Velleman Atlas ESR70 Capacitance and ESR Meter

This is a high quality product that is accurate and easy to use. The fact that the meter is made in England resulted in a well written instruction booklet and not a fractured English translation. It only takes seconds to test a capacitor. The ESR feature is the soul of the product. The cap may still test good, but the ESR will warn you if its future is limited. That will save you a lot of time and work.

I was unsure about purchasing this ESR meter. Its price was a little high and with a few pieces of test equipment you can basically do the same type of check on a capacitor. I did however purchase this item and I was glad that I did. All the necessary setup work and math are all encapsulated in one package. Simple turn the unit on and you are ready to go. I have used this in troubleshooting capacitors in a cement mixer as well as all of the capacitors in my Commodore 64 and Atari 2600. It really is a nice to have tool in your arsenal. The build quality is good, as well as the battery life, speed and functionality. There is somewhere buried in another amazon review a 3D print file for a stand that I found to be very useful.

Great tool and reads close to a bench top machine and price reflects it quality.

First, I should point out that there are at least three versions of the Peak Atlas ESR70. The original is the "ESR70", then the later "ESR70 +", and most recently the "ESR70 Gold". At the time of writing this review, THIS Amazon product listing mentions the "ESR70", the listing photo shows the "ESR70 +", yet the product shipped to me in February 2026 was the "ESR70 Gold", and my review is for this latest version (there are differences in features and specifications between all three versions). This product as a simple, handy, easy to use ESR & capacitance meter made in England, part of a whole series of electronic component meters and testers having the same size and shape and user interface. Note that, unlike better ESR/Capacitor meters, this product does NOT test DCR (DC resistance). This product auto-detects when a capacitor has been connected, and starts the 'analysis' process without the user needing to do anything else. However, if a capacitor has already been connected and the user wishes to have another analysis done, simply pressing the ON/TEST button initiates a new analysis process. A series of audible chirp and beep sounds act as indications of acceptable ESR; on other words, at the completion of the analysis process, which usually only takes a few seconds, the user can tell by the sounds if the capacitor's ESR is low enough to definitely be GOOD, or is a bit high but probably still OK, or is high enough to definitely be BAD. If the user prefers to NOT have the sounds, they may be easily turned off in a 'settings menu'. This tests ONLY tests ESR at 100kHz. It tests capacitance at 2mA for most capacitors, but on larger capacitors it automatically changes to 20mA in order to get the final reading in less time; an asterisk (*) on the display indicates of the capacitance reading was obtained using 20mA. Due to the testing technique, the user does not have to worry about the + / - polarity of the test leads when connecting to capacitors. The ESR measurement can be within the range of 0.01 Ohms up to 40 Ohms. The product automatically disregards the capacitive reactance of the capacitor under test, so numbers in Ohms on the display screen reflect the pure ESR, not a combination of ESR and reactance. The product tests ESR and then moves on to testing capacitance; due to the testing technique, those two tests cannot be done at the same time. Regardless, tests on most capacitors are done within a few seconds. If the capacitor is in-circuit and the tester gets odd results, or if it detects high leakage, it will show an appropriate message on the display rather then show a questionable measurement. The product comes with a pair of gold plated insulated alligator clips. These are OK for actually clipping onto the leads of through-hole capacitors, but can be difficult to use for some in-circuit capacitors and unworkable for testing SMD capacitors (note that this product is intended primarily for aluminum electrolytic capacitors; it is not really a general capacitor tester, although it might have some limited usefulness in that regard). The two test leads have in-line disconnects in the form of insulated male & female 2mm banana plug & socket. When the alligator clips have been unplugged from the test leads, the use is left with a pair of gold plated male 2mm banana plugs, which can be used as probes for many in-circuit capacitors. For more demanding in-circuit testing, and especially for SMD capacitors, the user may choose to obtain a pair or SMD test probes with 2mm female sockets at their rear ends. Pomona Electronics makes their 72923 (red) and 72923-0 (black) probes that work perfectly with this product. The user may also choose to purchase some female in-line 2mm banana sockets and solder on other types of probes or clips (e.g. "grabber" clips). Whenever the user changes the test lead & probe/clip configuration, it is necessary to have this ESR product do a probe "compensation" process, which re-zeros the ESR measuring circuitry. This is easily done using the menu and settings display and buttons. Some older versions of this product used an unusual type of 'battery' inside. This latest version (Gold) instead uses a common AAA cell. It is necessary to remove three screws from the back of the product in order to access the battery clip. Peak recommends using an alkaline type cell for the battery; I have not checked to see if rechargeable cells will work adequately. This product is designed and manufactured in England. It is of good quality, and critically it has a well-written users manual, using clear English. Peak is supposed to provide good product support, but I have sent them two messages asking about non-alkaline cells, and so far they have not replied.

Works perfectly with in place capacitors. Best refurbishing tool for my tool box.

I rarely write reviews unless a product totally needs recognition. This is the best Capacitor ESR meter that I have used. Truly saves you time by implementing in circuit testing. I have tried many Chinese capacitance testers and got fed up with the false data they presented so I broke the bank and bought this. Can’t say it was a bad purchase because it totally changed my life. I have cut my trouble shooting to 1/4 the time by having a unit that accurately tests in circuit. No more desoldering capacitors to test them. On rare occasions only you might have to lift a led to test. Simply accurate in every way. The best part is it discharges a capacitor before testing. This unit is a must for bench techs everywhere. Yea I know it is not cheap but I would not waste time with a review if it was useless like the TC1.

This little meter kicks ass! Ease of use and accuracy. Well worth it!

Works great