Keithley 181 Digital Nanovoltmeter

181 Operator's Manual
181 Service Manual

Application Notes

Keithley Low Level Measurements Handbook 7th. Edition

Accessories

Model 1506 Low Thermal EMF Input Cable

Keithley delivered Model 181 nanovoltmeter together with a low thermal EMF cable named “model 1506”. But for reasons I am not aware of, I have never seen a 181 nanovoltmeter being sold together with its model 1506 low thermal EMF cable. But I was lucky enough to score a 181 with half of a connector. From this partial model 1506 and using the service manual I inferred what it might have been:

Model 1506 Connector is a Amphenol 97 Series Standard Cylindrical Connector:

Amphenol 97 series selection catalog
All parts can be purchased separately on Mouser. Unfortunately Digikey did not have any matching components.

The Model 1506 cable is a triaxial, teflon insulated cable most probably with bare, uncoated berillium-copper strands. The cable was soldered to the pins of the connector using low EMF solder containing cadmium. Either berillium-copper or bare copper alligator clips were soldered to the other end of the cable. I'm still unaware of the exact triaxial cable that was used or a source for low thermal EMF solder to recreate the cable.