RAVPower PD Pioneer 65W 4-port Desktop Charger ( model RP-PC136 ) Review

I recently purchased a RAVPower PD Pioneer 65W 4-port Desktop Charger ( model RP-PC136 ). It just came with the charger itself and the power cable (detachable) but most people will have the cables they need so the fact it doesn’t come with cables is fine.

For a size comparison, it was about the same size as two portable wall chargers that I have: a 1-port USB-C 60W charger and a 2-port USB-A/USB-C 65W charger.  The fact I am able to get 4-ports for something that is still small enough to travel with was nice.

Charger and power cable

2x USB-C and 2x USB-A

Size comparison: 2-port charger on left, this product in the middle, and 1-port charger on right

Size comparison: 1-port charger on left, this product in the middle, and 2-port charger on right

To test the charger, I used various devices and a USB-C volt/amp meter to help track what was going on.  The numbers I use are just an estimate for watts, I wasn’t focused on accuracy I just wanted a rough idea of how the charger acted with various devices.

Test scenarios and outcomes:

- Lenovo Chromebook C330 connected alone on USB-C was charging around 14.5V / 2.07A, basically 30W.

- Lenovo Chromebook Duet connected alone on USB-C was charging around 8.52V / 2.39A, basically 20W.

- Samsung S9+ connected alone on USB-A was charging around 8.9V / 1.5A, basically 14W (fast charge mode).  

- RAVPower 26800 mAh battery pack connected alone on USB-A was charging around 4.86V / 1.81A, basically 9W.

- Putting both Chromebooks on the charger dropped the Duet to 16W, and the C330 stayed at 30W which was expected based on the product info.

- Putting both Chromebooks and the S9+ all at the same time dropped both Chromebooks to 16W each (as expected based on the product info), and the S9+ was charging at around 13W.

- Putting all 4 devices (2 Chromebooks, S9+ and the battery pack) left the Chromebooks with 16W each, S9+ around 8.6W and the battery pack at 10W.

I didn’t have any devices that pulled over 30W, so I wasn’t able to really max it out but the fact it was able to charge multiple devices without issue was nice.  I did notice that the USB-A ports could charge above 5V (supporting QC) but only if you were using one of the USB-A ports.  If you used both USB-A ports, they were limited to 5V.  After the fact I looked at the product info on the RAVPower site and saw this was reflected in the information.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Compact: This wasn’t much bigger than two different wall chargers that I have, and those were just one and two port chargers (both supported USB-C PD).  This charger had 2 USB-C and 2 USB-A ports.

Compatibility: It was nice that the charger supported PD on the USB-C ports and QC on the USB-A ports.

Bottom line: Great 4-port desk charger that is also compact enough for travel.

MakerHawk (Keweisi) USB-C meter Review

I recently purchased a MakerHawk USB-C test meter ( back of the device says Keweisi model KWS-1802C ) for a product review. The device comes alone, no cables or anything which is fine.

I don’t know if the average user would have a need for such a device, but since I like to play around with technology and post on my blog I figured it would be a nice addition to my toolkit.  I already have a USB-A to USB-C cable with a built-in V/A display, and a USB-A to microUSB cable with built-in V/A display but I didn’t have anything for USB-C to USB-C.

The charger shows voltage, amps, time charging, watts, mAh and temperature.

To test the charger out, I tried various things:

- Tested a Choetech and Inateck USB-C PD charger against various devices ( two Chromebooks and a Samsung S9+ ).  I saw a range of voltages from 5V on the S9+ all the way to 15V from my Lenovo Chromebook C330.

- I tested a RAVPower powerbank with my Lenovo Duet.  It was interesting because I was able to have the Duet charge the powerbank, and also have the powerbank charge the Duet.  In both cases, the meter property showed the direction of flow.

- The highest voltage was when I was charging the RAVPower powerbank, it was almost 20V (about 30W) which seems to be the max charging input.

Here are some product pictures:

Some of my equipment

The MakerHawk shows the USB-C measures,
and the Choetech shows the voltage on the USB-A.

Chromebook Duet is charging the battery pack
(arrow shows current flowing out)

Battery pack is charging the Chromebook Duet
(arrow shows current flowing in)

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Easy to use: Just plug it in and use it, nothing special

Reversible: It measures flow in both directions, so you can plug the meter into your charger or the device being charged.

Budget friendly: Very inexpensive little gadget to help you with any testing you need to do.

Bottom line: Neat addition to the toolkit of anyone that is into technology.