A reverse-engineering effort has led to a simple web app that can control the ZKETECH EBC-A20 battery tester. Built with WebUSB to reach the device over USB-to-serial, it lets users run basic load tests and graph results in a browser—without relying on the dev
If you have a ZKETECH EBC-A20 battery tester on your bench, you may already know the friction: the device works, but the default software can feel like a locked door.
Now there’s an alternative.
A reverse-engineering effort focused on the EBC-A20 has become the foundation for an app created by Kazhuu. The battery tester’s control method is a simple serial interface, running at 9600 bps, with 8 bits and odd parity. With a relatively complete understanding of the commands used to operate the device. the developer built a web app that can take control instead.
The approach relies on WebUSB to connect to the tester through a USB-to-serial converter. Alongside the browser-based option, a desktop version is also available for Linux and Windows.
Using it is straightforward: plug the EBC-A20 into your computer via USB, point your browser to the web app, and run basic load tests on battery cells. The results can be graphed right on your computer, sparing you from the proprietary workflow that originally came with the tester.
And if you’re not interested in the EBC-A20 at all, the same tinkering instinct is encouraged in the background of the release. The developer suggests that anyone building their own test hardware on the lab bench should feel free to share it via the tipsline.
ZKETECH EBC-A20 battery tester WebUSB USB-to-serial serial interface 9600 bps odd parity load tests reverse engineering Linux Windows
So basically they hacked the battery tester app? Cool I guess.
WebUSB sounds sketchy. Like my browser’s gonna randomly talk to my hardware?? Also odd parity??? I’m lost but if it saves time then whatever.
Wait, I thought battery testers were all locked down because of safety or something. But now you can just plug it in and run load tests from a browser? Kinda feels like bypassing the whole point of proprietary software, not gonna lie. Also 9600 bps seems slow… like is it even accurate or is it just graphing vibes?
If this works, why would the company even bother updating their own software? I feel like this is gonna break the warranty or something even if it doesn’t say it. And “USB-to-serial converter” like… do regular people have those laying around? My cousin would accidentally fry the tester and blame the browser.