Keithley 6485 Test Leads: Keithley 7754-3

[leighcorrigall]

Hello everyone,

I have been waiting for weeks to receive a 'specialized cable' for my Keithley 6485 picoammeter. It cost 115.20 CAD + tax. When it arrived in the mail, I was expecting something different. See attachment.


By inspection, I was surprised to see that it was a basic looking Pomona cable. Naturally, I checked the mouser website and found that the Pomona 4532-C-36 is available for 34.66 CAD!!!

Buyer beware. I am contacting the technical support depart at Mouser to determine if a mistake has been made. Hopefully, I can help others by sharing what I know.

Is this unethical for Tektronics to do this? Should I return the part for a longer and cheaper version (4532-C-60) or are there some differences in the manufacturing process that I am not taking into consideration?

Thanks for your support!

[LaserEng]

It's just a case of Tek adding their expected margin on the cable and accesories typically are hit with the largest margins to cover costs, is it unethical, no but it does leave a bad customer experience. Surprised they couldn't be bothered to hide the OEM though.

[notfaded1]

Yeah the longer 60" Pomona version is 2$ more vs 36" one.  $25.99 vs $23.99 USD.  It would be hard not to want to return it I think.  You could have one of each for less.  I have one of the 36" Pomona ones I bought off ebay a while ago.  I always thought it was a little weird the one lead was longer?

Bill

[leighcorrigall]

I always thought it was a little weird the one lead was longer?

Hi Bill,

This is a good question.

The reason for the shortened red lead is to keep electrical interference exposure to a minimum of the inner conductor (HI input). The length of the black lead (LOW input) is less important for a grounding shield and the length needs to be greater so that you can attach a potentially large DUI. I wish they shielded the red lead all the way to the end like they do with the triax alligators (eg. 237-ALG-2, 2600-ALG-2), but alas, it's too expensive for most applications.