HP Agilent Keysight: missing instrument feed mystery

There is one thing that has always been inriguing me: why are most of the HP Agilent intruments that I am getting my hands on missing feet?

missing instrument foot

This is a picture from the recenty fixed HP 8782B. It has 3 feet installed, 1 missing –
HP Part No 5040-7201, 5041-8801, about USD 14 (each!) at Keysight.

Maybe, some sellers take them off, and sell them separately at xbay – same what is happening to the manuals. And in fact, some offers are posted, but by no means enough to explain all the missing feet everywhere.

Also, if equipment is rack mounted, sure, the feet are taken off and stored somewhere in a drawer at one of the big test labs army bases or corporations, but many of the intruments have never been rack-mounted…

Maybe some of the test engineers just can’t let go and hold back at least one of the feet! Well, I’m glad they don’t take out one of the transistors…

hp instrument feet

So in the end, if you happen to find a bag of these somewhere, please forward them to me…. to put them back where they belong.

One thought on “HP Agilent Keysight: missing instrument feed mystery”

  1. Simon,

    Wow, I have always wondered the same thing. Considering how difficult it is to get that last foot off, most of the HP stuff I have obtained from “fleabay” or ham swaps is usually missing the feet.

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