I'm evaluating the purchase of a used LCR meter and am looking at a 4286A that does not include a Test Head or test stand/fixture. What product part numbers could be used in place of the missing test head? My goal is to measure the inductance of wire wound inductors in the 5nH to 350nH range and SMD capacitors from 2pF to 150pF up to 1GHz.
I don't work for keysight, and have never seen a 4286A, so take my comments with a pinch of salt if you wish.
I think the 4286A will be effectively useless without the test head. From the fixtures it uses, I believe the test head will have an APC7 connector.
I have a 1.8 GHz 4291B impedance/material analyzer, which has a test station and one can fit one of several test heads in. All have the APC7 connector. Basically the test head is a RF-IV fixture. It measures the current and voltage. It is not something you can make yourself.
I would be 95% sure the 4286A works in a similar way to the 4291A and 4291B, in that they are RF-IV devices.
You might want to consider if an 4291A or B is a better choice, as the LCR meters tend to have fixed frequencies, whereas impedance analyzers can step in 1 Hz steps.
Anyway, I would be very skeptical or buying such an item without the test head, as they are not easy to find. The fixtures that go on the test head are easy to find on eBay, so I would not worry about getting one of them, but without the test head, I think it will be useless.
Dave