B&K Precision 8600 Programmable DC Electronic Load

Overview

The B&K Precision 8600 is a programmable DC electronic load delivering the performance of modular system DC loads in a compact 2U half-rack benchtop form factor. Designed for testing and evaluating DC sources including power supplies, DC-DC converters, batteries, battery chargers, and photovoltaic arrays, it features fast transient operation up to 25 kHz, 16-bit measurement resolution, and multiple operating modes for comprehensive load simulation.

Key Features

• Four operating modes: Constant Current (CC), Constant Voltage (CV), Constant Resistance (CR), and Constant Power (CW)
• Fast transient operation up to 25 kHz in CC mode
• 16-bit voltage and current measurement with 1 mV / 0.1 mA resolution
• Adjustable slew rate in CC mode for smooth load transitions
• 100 memory locations to store and recall test setups
• Built-in battery test function with capacity and timer stop conditions
• CR-LED mode to simulate typical LED loading characteristics
• Test modes to validate OCP and OPP protection of power supplies
• Remote sense and analog current control
• Thermostatically controlled cooling fan
• Complete protection: OVP, OCP, OPP, OTP, LRV, RRV
• Flexible triggering: front panel, external input, timer, or bus

Interfaces & Control

• USB (USBTMC-compliant)
• RS-232 serial
• GPIB with SCPI command support

Applications

• DC power supply testing and characterization
• Battery and battery charger evaluation
• DC-DC converter testing
• Photovoltaic array testing
• Transient load simulation and switching response testing
• LED and power electronics testing