Peak are a well known producer of some very neat compact test equipments in the UK. The have been around for many years and I am pleased to see a UK based company providing such equipment. It is not an easy market in which to sell, thanks to cheap Chinese test equipment.
I own the DCA55,DCA75 and ESR70. All three are excellent value for money and perform very well. Another important factor when buying equipment from Peak is their after sales support. I offer the following example of what you can expect ......
I purchased a used DCA55 that was faulty. The fault was likely due to user abuse. I advised Peak of the history of the unit and requested any information that they could share on the meaning of a displayed fault code. I was hoping to narrow down what part of the unit was failing the self test or at least identifying that the unit was scrap due to a fried PIC chip.
I received support responses from both Peak Customer Support and Jez himself.
The error code was common to several possible failures but Peak provided me with a repair note made available to those owners wishing to attempt their own repairs. I was also offered repair at very reasonable cost by Peak. Jez indicated that if the PIC was fried, I could contact him to obtain a replacement.
I checked the contents of the DIY repair guidance written by Peak and it was clear that abuse of the input could destroy the input protection TVS diodes and some common IC's. It was advised to fit new SMD TVS diodes and replace the IC's in a stated order. I replaced the diodes and the first IC. The unit was returned to full functionality at this point. I went ahead and replaced the other IC's as well as they may have suffered stress during the abuse event. Thankfully the PIC chip is fine and does not need to be replaced. The DCA55 is providing excellent back-up service to my DCA75.
In a previous conversation on this forum with Jez, it was highlighted that the cases that Peak use are novel, but they sit flat on the bench when a tilted attitude would be better for ease of reading the display. Jez took this constructive criticism and designed a really neat desk stand that could be 3D printed. The stand is a lovely solid design and not just a 'prop' or 'bale' type. Jez released the 3D build file to all for free as a service to his customers. I believe the stand is available on the Peak web site fro free download. I asked Jez if I could purchase a stand from him as I did not have a working 3D printer at the time. This gentleman sent me a stand free of charge ! Please do not inundate him asking for freebies, he was just being very kind and generous to me.
So in precis, Peak stand by their product and offer excellent customer support even when you tell them you purchased a unit known to be faulty ! I get the strong feeling that Jez and his team like to be helpful where possible and will help those users of their excellent equipment to maintain it. I cannot imagine a Chinese manufacturer of similar equipment being so helpful somehow.
I also own some other brands of ESR meter and component tester. I was please to be able to buy British though and support a 'local' company that produces some innovative products. Jez is a very clever designer and I fully endorse both his products and his excellent positive attitude to customer support.
I will see what other kit Peak have that I can add to my test bench
Fraser
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