Are there any gotcha's if you hook the AX3500 to a programmable dc load?
For my application, I need to measure battery performance under conditions close to actual use.
Here is a manufacturer of dc loads:
www.chromaate.com/english/product/list.asp?gid=44

<P style="MARGIN: 0px">It is very difficult to say, not knowing how these boxes operate internally.
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<P style="MARGIN: 0px">The controller is designed to work with DC motors and depends on the motor's inductance to smooth the current.
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<P style="MARGIN: 0px">For high current testing, we have connected the controller to nearly all-resistive loads without problems.
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<P style="MARGIN: 0px">The DC load box you pointed to appears to have its own switching circuit in order to vary the current. If this is the case, it is hard to see good things coming out from a controller pulsing current in a switched load.
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<P style="MARGIN: 0px">Best would be to modelize the whole circuitry (controller and DC load). You will find an approximated model of the controller, along with a link to a free simulator, on our Technical Ressources page at <A href="www.roboteq.com/techressources.shtml" target=_blank>www.roboteq.com/techressources.shtml</A>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0px">As an added precaution, if you control the controller and the DC load via an SBC (Single Board Computer) it should be safe to use the DC load if you memorize the Amp value, zero it, switch the DC load and then restore the Amp value. It should minimize any parasitic inductance effect.
<P style="MARGIN: 0px">Tony