Portable Electronic Lab

Introduction

Building a portable electronic lab has become increasingly feasible with the availability of high-quality, low-cost instruments from various manufacturers. The goal is to create a compact, backpack-friendly setup that provides essential measurement and debugging capabilities for electronics work on the go.

This page serves as my personal reference for tracking interesting portable instruments and tools that could form the foundation of such a lab. Maybe one day I will pull the trigger and actually build this setup. In the meantime, I plan on collecting here components that I find. Each entry includes basic specifications and price ranges to help with planning and budgeting.

Soldering

FNIRSI HS-02 Intelligent Soldering Iron

• 100W max power, 9-20V working voltage
• 0.96” HD color screen with temperature control
• PD/QC protocol support, 2s heating time
• Price range: €28-75

Measuring

Multimeter

Placeholder for portable multimeter selection

USB Power Measurement

FNIRSI FNB58 USB Fast Charge Tester

• 4-28V voltage, 0-7A current, 0-140W power monitoring
• 2.0” TFT display with multiple fast charging protocol support
• QC2.0/3.0, PD2.0/3.0, VOOC, AFC protocol detection
• Price range: €46

Oscilloscope

DSCope U2B100

• 100MHz bandwidth, up to 1GSa/s sample rate
• 2 analog channels, ultra-portable (115x74x16mm)
• USB-based with cross-platform DSView software
• Price range: €185

Logic Analyzer

DSLogic U3Pro16

• 1GHz max sample rate, 16G stream/2G buffer depth
• 16 channels with 16-stage protocol trigger
• Rich protocol decoder library, USB 3.0 interface
• Price range: €280

Power Supply

FNIRSI DPS-150 Mini DC Power Supply

• 0-30V, 0-5A, 150W programmable output
• 2.8” IPS display with CC/CV modes
• Multiple safety protections, Type-C input
• Price range: €55

Power Management

Battery Pack with PD Output

Placeholder for high-capacity battery pack with PD output for powering multiple instruments

Multi-Tool PD Adapter

Placeholder for high-wattage PD adapter capable of powering 3+ tools simultaneously

Programming & Debugging

Universal Programmer

Placeholder for universal IC programmer supporting various memory types and microcontrollers

JTAG Debugger

Black Magic Probe

• Plug-and-play JTAG/SWD debugger with integrated GDB server
• No OpenOCD required - connects directly via target extended-remote
• Automatic target detection for ARM Cortex-M/A microcontrollers
• USB CDC ACM interface, works on Windows/Linux/macOS without drivers
• Available from multiple EU distributors including 1BitSquared Germany
• Price range: €80-90

USB-to-Serial Converter

Ollie v2

• Isolated USB-to-dual-UART/CAN/RS485/RS232 converter
• Two isolated UART ports up to 6 Mbps, 1.8/3.3/5V or target voltage
• Galvanic isolation protects your computer from high-voltage damage
• USB-C connector with plastic protective enclosure
• Price range: €58

Analysis Tools

Protocol Sniffer

Placeholder for protocol analyzer supporting I2C, SPI, UART, and other common protocols

Visual Inspection

USB Microscope

Placeholder for portable USB microscope for PCB inspection and component identification

ESD Protection

Portable ESD Mat

Placeholder for foldable/portable ESD mat with grounding capabilities

Software Tools

Some interesting software to keep an eye on.

• sigrok - Universal signal analysis software suite