Peak Atlas ESR tester

[CambridgeWorks]

I am considering getting one of these (secondhand, as I cannot really justify the the new price) and would like to know how members get on with it and how useful they find it.
I currently have a nice Marconi TF2700 (and a second one as well)! It is fine measuring values of C, but obviously not esr. For esr, I have been using a lash up square wave generator and oscilloscope with success for comparisons sorting good from bad, but I am not confident on the absolute accuracy achieved.
Hence my considering the esr60 or esr70 and seeking opinions.
Nothing against the Chinese offerings, but it is the Peak product I am interested in.
Thanks,
Rob

[HamishBoxer]

Peak produce first class stuff, I have their semi analyser and another piece of their gear.

My ESR meter/tester is invaluable, would not have survived without it in full time servicing plus it reads caps in circuit. Make sure the main smoother is discharged first of course.

[PJL]

I have been very pleased with an ebay chinese LCR component testers and that also measures ESR.

[ColinTheAmpMan1]

I concur with Hamish. I purchased mine brand new and don't regret the cost at all.
Mine is an ESR70 and of course isn't perfect, but is close to it. There are caveats about measuring caps in circuit and of course if there are two caps in parallel, then it will be the parallel capacitance and ESR that get measured.
Colin.

[MrBungle]

I don’t own the ESR meter from them but the LCR45 is beyond excellent. I’d expect the same from the ESR units as well

[Ted Kendall]

I found the Peak LCR checker and transistor checker a few years ago among Dad's stuff. These were 2003 vintage, stored for a decade. New batteries and off they went. Wouldn't be without them. I picked up a nice ESR meter for not much at a fair, but without that lucky find I'd certainly buy the Peak, so impressed am I with the units I have - only problem is finding 'em among the clutter on the bench!

[PETERg0rsq]

Another thumbs up for the PEAK gear.

I have the ESR60 and the DCA55

Both in constant use, and saved a lot of time.

High quality from the function to robust case to quality test clips

and MADE IN ENGLAND

[Radio Wrangler]

Mine works perfectly. Does just what it says on the can and seems well built. I bought the ESiR and LCR meters and splashed out on the plastic carrying case. I haven't regretted it at all.

I have Wayne-Kerr bridges and an automatic Racal-Dana bridge, but the Peak hand-held jobs have taken over the day-to-day work. The W-K is standards lab grade, the Racal-Dana is automated and IEEE 488 and both can measure loss factor/ESR... but the peak things do the work now unless something special is needed.

David

[TowerRadio]

Very useful piece of testgear and it takes up no room at all. Good luck with the search! Les

[chriswood1900]

I would recommend one without hesitation I have used my ESR60 for several years without any problem, I have tried some if the cheaper Chinese ones and the Dick Smith one but the Peak one I found the easiest to use and most reliable.

[wireless_john]

I have one too. Highly recommended.

I also have LCR45 and DCA55, both excellent. Peak themselves are tops on customer service too.

John

[CambridgeWorks]

Some nice positive comments, thanks one and all for taking the time to respond.
I was tempted several years ago on their stand at the National Hamfest, it seemed a good deal they offered. But it seemed a lot at the time for my requirements. I have maybe 200 capacitors to test at some time, but nothing is urgent.
I rarely do much in repairs or fault finding these days, more in the way of experimenting and building.
I will just keep my eyes open for the time being I think.
Rob

[Pamphonica]

Peak Electronics used to offer a 20% discount, nominally for EEVblog members. May now be dead.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysel...43/#msg1325243
If it doesn’t work try contacting Peak directly, perhaps.
I have made use of this discount myself in the past.
-Jeremy

[bc312]

Excellent little testers - I have the ESR60, DCA55 and LCR45, and wouldn't be without them. Good customer service from Peak too.

Mike

[high_vacuum_house]

Very useful little testers. I use mine a lot and I much prefer these little handheld instruments compared to vintage component testers that take up half of the bench !!

I have the ESR70, the LCR45, and the semiconductor analyser which I have been using to repair a Philips oscilloscope. Would have got lost without it!!

I also have the Peak Atlas Zen which is the zener diode tester. This one is really handy for testing unknown zener diodes up to 50V as well as silicon and germanium diodes. You can also use it to see the forward voltage drop across unknown LED's A useful side effect is the LED flashes during testing so you can see what colour clear LED's are!!

Christopher Capener

[Boulevardier]

Do the Peaks have protected inputs (e.g, in case of charged capacitors absent-mindedly being connected)?

Mike

[Radio Wrangler]

No.

They have warnings to make sure you discharge capacitors first. There may be some protection, but not enough to absorb indefinite voltage from indefinite capacitance.

David

[mhennessy]

There is infinitely more protection than you get in the cheap Chinese meters

For smaller capacitors (less than 10uF), the "abuse voltage" (their words!) is 275V. For larger capacitors, it's 50V. Obviously, it's as much about energy as voltage, which is not surprising given that the discharge resistor is an SMT type.

[Boulevardier]

Originally Posted by mhennessy

There is infinitely more protection than you get in the cheap Chinese meters .

That's what I was hoping... I've already "blown" several chips in my cheap Chinese one with undischarged capacitors. Programmed replacements are available, and not too expensive. But it's a serious hassle.

Mike

[high_vacuum_house]

The Peak ESR tester does have a built in capacitor discharge cycle which detects non discharged capacitors, applies this cycle before testing the capacitor. I think the operating limits are as above though if the capacitor takes too long to discharge then it warns you it’s taking too long, aborts the discharge cycle and test.

Christopher Capener