NanoVNA a $50-$70 Amateur Radio Antenna Analyzer?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- The NanoVNA provides alot of value in a tiny size. It has features that go beyond what we need most of the time with amateur radio, so there is a bit more complexity to the unit. With that said, if you have a bit of patience you can learn how to use this for your antenna building.
NanoVNA can be found on Amazon here: amzn.to/2Rxkhzj
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Companies can send demo products to: Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, Ca. 90703-5101
NOTE: the $50 price is when purchasing through Aliababa. It's more expensive if you purchase it through Amazon.
I paid about $35 on Aliexpress.
The linked nano vna, in your description is the same one I purchased. Mine did in fact come with the shielding, case, and calibration kit. I felt the extra cost was worth not waiting for delivery. Great video! 73!
I received my first oscilloscope and signal analizer with tracker and a 60 mhz wave form signal generator. It's on my channel. Just click the E icon.
Payed 53€ for german Ebay dealer...send from Germany so no customs stress
I ordered the "updated" model for use with Android. But haven't tried it out with the app yet. Of course for all I know they might all be compatible with the android app. I clicked and ordered. And it works at least as a stand alone. $62 on Amazon, prime next day delivery.
As low as $35+ shipping from AliExpress w/2-3 week delivery estimation. I bought from Amazon.
It might be worth adding, for those who haven't found out yet, that the little NanoVNA becomes MUCH MUCH better to use, and much more powerful when used connected to a PC running the program for it. You can do more stuff that way, and you get it bigger size so easier to see and work with.
who
After watching your video and about 20 others I actually bought one of these units and even after watching all these videos I was still frustrated and confused. I watched this video again. Watching something in theory and actually using it, and having the device in front of you, is very different. I'm finally able to analyze the antennas which I build over the years. Mostly accurate results, some surprising results (especially my HF antennas).
Knowing what you know now, would you still purchase this?
@@johnd8224 Yes. It's great for the price. I don't use it that often, but for more things that I intended to (which was to measure my DIY antennas). However, I sometimes have to fresh up my knowledge by looking at a quick video.
Thank you for this. I purchased one last month. I have already thrown away 2 Antennas I purchased from China on ebay, as they were so off frequency ( or were just broken) Your video has definitely prevented me from damaging my expensive radio equipment. It also goes to show how many of these Chinese companies ' Lie' about frequency range of antennas. Much appreciated!
Thanks for watching!
Tips:
1) For trimming HF dipoles, the Open/Short/Load calibration process (that is related to amplitude and phase) isn't all that essential if your primary concern is simply finding the FREQUENCY of the dip. Skipping that process can save a lot of time. If you're worried, then the final confirmation measurement can be oh-so carefully calibrated if you wish.
2) One can purchase SMA-male to SMA-female adapters (which do "nothing" adapter-wise) to act as 'Connector Savers'. This entire concept is less critical on a $50 gadget than a $50,000 instrument, but these adapters are very very cheap.
3) Order a spare set of Open/Short/Load sooner than later. You'll need them eventually.
4) When (not if, LOL) you trim your dipole an inch too short, then add a little tab of aluminum foil tape around a square inch at each end of your too short dipole. These foil tabs act as 'top hats' and will drop the resonance enough to allow you to then trim the foil to hit the target frequency.
5) When watching someone that doesn't know about NanoVNAs fiddling with their $350 MJF Antenna Analyzer, try not to smirk. It's rude.
The Nano VNA is perfect for anyone on a budget. It works really well for me. Yes it has a bit of a learning curve but with videos like this you'll be fine.
Have rejected and thrown away several antennas that claimed they could what they couldn't do.
Thnx for sharing. And people buy this 👌
This gave me to confidence to try out the NanoVNA, thank you.
Heard about this at a radio club meeting here in Yuma.
Your video is very informative.
73 W6DRO (65 years on the air)
Thank you for watching.
Thank you so much, that's perfect. I had bought one for Amateur radio and was overwhelmed by the menu structure map that came with it, not sure where to begin. This video explains exactly how to do what I need it for :)
Excellent. My Elmer just recommended I get this for building and verifying my antennas over the standard SWR meter. Looks very capable. Just need to protect it more. I would think a plastic case housing it with a SMA to UHF connector would be wise. Of course the calibration would have to be done with the SMA connectors. I can’t believe the price though. Network analyzers we used at work back in the day would have been $1000s or $10,000s. Now to get educated...
Ordered an updated version from R&L a couple of weeks ago. This came mounted in a metal case and included a carry case. So they have been improving these over the past year.
I got one of those cheap analyzers not too long ago and used it to check commercial 460, 700, and 800 MHz antennas as well as an FM broadcast antenna and it worked good enough to be in the ball park.
Nice video! I just got one from Amazon and love it. Paid quite a bit more, but that's because I wanted the 4.3" screen. And it came in a very rugged metal case. It's the "NanoVNA-F" and it came pre-calibrated from 50 kHz to 1 GHz (vector S11 is cal'ed to the SMA connector reference plane, but its fine without re-cal for SWR or S11 log-magnitude plots in any sub-frequency range). The SOLT cal can still be done if you like, and the frequency range can be expanded to 10 kHz to 1.5 GHz if you do. NanoVNA makers continue to add improvements to hardware and firmware designs on all the various models - but this one is amazing. Kudos to BH5HNU and deepelec who is the developer/manufacturer of this version V2.3 hardware with S/N 30XX firmware.
Have you tried it using bit on your computers with their latest v soft war programs yet ? I bought the larger one too because I don't see as well as I use to. I have a smaller one someone gave me too but I never really use it. I guess I will give it to someone who wants to try one out.
I bought one a couple of weeks ago.
A very handy bit of test gear.
I've checked my h/b dipoles: I got the SWR down but they are slightly too long to be spot on frequency, I looked at my h/b magnetic loop as I tuned through frequencies and checked the performance of a h/b filter for 9MHz.
The only thing I would criticise is the tiny screen size, I have to use a magnifying glass to read things.
G4GHB.
Wish we had these when we were in our antennas course at the university. Of course, at the time, a four function calculator was considered advanced.
I got readings that were off when I received mine until I connected the cable directly from port 0 (or s11) to port 1 (or s21) and calibrated the thru as well. I saw someone demonstrate in another video.
got a no-name one that goes to 3ghz, and recently bought a litevna 64 which goes to 6ghz. finally I can characterize my 5.8 antennas.
KJ7QAR, Phoenix Arizona.
Got my license because of you and Mike just reinforced my desire.
Hi, Josh. Good review, thx. Just ordered the "upgraded" version, 10KHz to 1.5GHz. Total $56 with an online coupon. Be here in 2 days on Prime. I may be back with a review soon. 73
This thing is insane even for diagnostics of coaxial connections in my scientific equipment (they sometimes broke, usually at the connectors).
This is crazy cool. I had no idea I could get VNA so cheap. Must have.
I just bought one via your link to test my DIY antenna! I started listening to your podcast 3 weeks ago and love it. I hate lamp!
good demo, and glad to see the Rig Experts in action too.
Hell yeah, been playing with it and found which of my antennas are bunk. Now to start building. Finally.
Nice demonstration. I have one but I never thought of using the end of a hard plastic pen instead of that guitar pick that comes with it and dragging the cursor around.
Mine is fully encased in plastic which surely makes it a little safer from damage. I think mine was up to about $75 off Ebay. Stay safe...
The NanoVNA is an extremely precise instrument. If you perform the calibration sequence properly it compares very favourably to a Keysight VNA costing tens of thousands. It is almost certainly more useful and more accurate than anything developed specifically for amateur radio. Now - calibration. When it asks for the open, put the open cal piece on, don't just leave the cable unterminated. You get timing errors this way. Finally, leave the format as return loss. This is a much more useful set of data than SWR.
I bought one for myself (early Christmas pressie £30) prior to your video ..fantastic bit of kit. Thanks for your video on these too - 73 and Seasons Greetings to you and All the viewers de 2E0XBT
Such a helpful video. I am not in the market for a rigexpert just based on price. But this is so doable. Thanks again Josh.
Thanks! My wife gave me one of these. Now I know how to use it.
These instruments are great . I use mine for SWR tuning but it does so much more I m planning to learn on testing 50ohm cables. But there are plenty of great tutorial videos to learn from on line like by this
TH-camr . Thanks !
mine can measure coax length by listening to the reflections within the cable. incredible tool
I bought one because of this video and am now currently playing with it. Thanks!
R&L is where I got my Nanovna 4. And they have plenty more.
Thank you for the video. I was considering buying a RigExpert, but bought a NanoVNA instead.
Very cool. The Smith chart stuff is important, today we do it with software......
Josh could you in the future use this in a field setting on “How to test a mobile vehicle antenna set up on a rig? I’m looking at buying one to test my truck set up, specifically SWA, I just bought a Yaesu FTM-400XDR/DE. Also just bought a XIEGU G-90 🙂. Definitely going down the rabbit hole.
I would love to see a side by side comparison of impedance and swr between the nanovna and your rig expert to see how closely they agree. I'll beg haha. W0AAV.
very nice. The tinySA ULTRA 100k-5.3GHz was used in setting up a backyard 21cm 1420 MHz radio telescope dish. So I am watching how to videos on making a R-scope. 😎 Thanks.
Many thanks for this VERY educational video. Easy to understand, and I appreciate you showing the calibration too. I was considering one at £320 around $400 but I think I will get this one instead now. I am not wanting accuracy to 0.0001MHz so it will suit me just fine. Thanks again. Keep up the good work.
Just got mine. And 50 years ago. any thing near it was the size of a small fridge and had a key board, and a printer . So 50 years separate me....my school years. So it's a real eye opener. Ps school was the south eastern signal school. Fort Gordon Ga. I feal have gone from the engneer of a steam ship to trying to run a atomic sub. I get the theory. ...just the tools change. thanks om 73 kv4li sgt williams out
My wife is getting me one for Father's Day 2021 lol.
Nice demo; thank you. With all due respect, if I heard properly, I think that the item you call a 'Thru' is more accurately termed an 'Open' since there is not electrical connection through the center conductor of the barrel. The calibration terminations are properly described as short, open, and 50 ohms which is (as you describe) all you need to set up standard error correction for two-port s-parameter measurements. 73, AC9N
A full calibration of five points. You only need open, short and 50ohm load for swr and impedance testing. Which is what I showed and explained on the video. No correction needed.
At 3:14 you held up the open and referred to it as a thru, that was what he was saying.
Excellent Video for my very new Antena Vector analyser which I bought yesterday from Ali Express..Thanks.
Thanks for the vidio. The MFJ one is $300. That looks like a great and more portable alternative.
I have one & it didn't come with a plastic case , it came in a. Cardboard box ..
Thanks for the demo 73's
Ok. I'm sold. I'll get one of these to figure out what the hell I've built ;-) Oughtta be pretty handy once it warms up enough for me to start hanging wires again. Thanks for the video.
Great video and tutorial. Just got mine today and already love using it.
Thanks for the explanation! I finally got one of these, so I'm back to review how to use this. Honestly, the paperwork that comes with these is out of my league!
A big THANK YOU for this video, as it sure did help me figure out the user interface. This is one mighty useful device, as is your video. I used H-P VNA's decades ago and never imagined I could hold one in the palm of my hand. At any rate, I am off looking at all my antennas at the moment. Thanks again.
This video is awesome I got one last year and the only info that came with it was the command prompt tree, nothing about general use. Which kind of added to the stress with getting my license.
Taking tech practice tests just got 33 of 35 best score yet. Be ota soon test is sat morning.
How'd you do? w0jwd
@@randyrick8019 i passed
I 3d printed a case , which also houses the cal. bits now i take it in the field. it is the best bit of kit
Any chance I can get the file to print one of my own?
Thanks Josh, I just bought a NanoVNA and didn't know where to start...now I do! 73, G0CIQ
Thanks for the video!
I have referenced this video every time I need to re calibrate the VNA. Thanks for a great vid! 73, de KM4ACK
Awesome! I’m glad it helps. Thanks for what you do too!
Got a VNA V2 On amazon with a full metal case , rechargeable battery, nice semi hard case and cables etc. -50 db to 1.5ghz and 40 db to 3ghz, Allot to learn about, esp with the usb to pc.
Hey Josh! I Love the intro camera angle! Please use it more in your future videos! Nice video, might buy!
I will thanks for the comment!
FYI, the cheaper Amazon sources sometimes ship with silk screen defects and take longer to arrive. It was worth the 1 month wait to save 25.00 to me. The printing defects were non issues for me.
I have seen at least a half dozen videos explaining how to use the NanoVNA. They all have ONE THING IN COMMON. Whenever the creator connects the lead to and actual antenna he moves the lead out of the frame of the camera or does not show the connection at all. Its like the NanoVNA just magically connected to a standard coax plug without the need for and adapter or anything.
It is similar to when a content creator reviews a rig in great detail. Going over every button and screen But the right just MAGICALLY TURNS ON !!! i.e. they never mention that you have to connect the rig to a power supply !!!!
Hi. Brand new to your channel. I just got mine in the mail. I paid 84 dollars for mine, but it does go from 15 k up to I think its 12 or 13 hundred MHZ. So far, I'm very impressed. I did a search and your channel popped up. Great intro to this device. Thank you for making this vid. 73, de KD7SJT
This is very informative and im confident to buy a nano vna to check my antenna🤗🤗🤗
I have one, and while it's a great device at a fantastic price, I find it just a bit... small.
There is already a new version with a larger screen (and larger battery) and there is talk of improving the actual circuit as well.
I have heard about this from other hams on the local Tech Net. Now seeing it in action, I’m quite impressed. I love home brewing so much I bought a Antritsu Sitemaster. And you can guess the price of that! Hell, I think the calibration kit alone cost close to 300 bucks! For 50 to 75 dollars, I’ll give the thing a try.. Just to see how it stacks up to the Sitemaster.
Make sure to post the comparison, please!
Will do. As soon as I have some time to make the comparison.
@@robertmitchum2972 Thanks! I subbed, and I'll keep an eye out 👍
Did a bunch of different tests on the nano VNA. Frequency accuracy is exceptionally good. VSWR measurements are 98% accurate. Measuring attenuators, 95 to 99% accurate. Tank ckts, not as good as a grid dip, but it does work fairly well. Not crazy about the calibration kit they give you, but it is good enough. I marked mine Open, Short and Load..... For the price, you can’t beat it!
I opted for the bigger screen model and the metal case. All said and done $154.00 on Amazon...
PS..... The smaller screen models only go to 900 MHz. The larger screen I bought does up to 1000 MHz. Not a big deal. Looks to be several different manufacturers as well, but they all look exactly the same...
I also have the high end Sark 110 but need the manual to use it each time. My Nano works well for general ham radio antenna testing and filter analysis and is simple enough to use without going back to the manual. Every shack should have one of these.
FYI there are some cases you can print for them on thingiverse to protect them better as well.
I just downloaded it! I'll give it a print in a day or so!
@@HamRadioCrashCourse A link to those enclosures would be helpful.
Funny, I was using the same ink pen for a stylus :) For sure the best ink pen out there.
Very, very interesting little unit. My only concern would be the accuracy of the analyzer. Thank you for letting us know about these.
It is accurate for SWR, but it’s finicky as a spectrum analyzer.
Nice explanation of vna nice piece of kit for price
Spot on. Thanks for explaining my little unit. Damn, I got a lot of antenna work to do... (fun antenna work). Thanks again.
convinced me to purchace one thanks for the demo
I've had one for a couple of months. Do update your firmware to a version that can update the firmware from the UI before you button up the nanoVNA inside of a case. I found that a common Comet antenna was good on 2m but awful on 440. Reviews from a while back on eHam said the same thing, amazingly enough. The Nagoyas weren't impressive either, but a Diamond RH77 was a solid performer. Go figure.
I picked one up a month or so ago for $40 on Ebay, shipped from Cali. I cannot see that dang screen even with reading glasses, so I strongly recommend using the PC software to save yourself from headaches. Wow, my old 5 band trap vertical is in dire need of work --- but the 80m OCF is fantastic. Now to compare the various HT antennas --
Cool little gadget and very informative video, but you can tell the difference in quality between the Nano and the RigExpert just by looking at them on the screen here, and the Ukrainian-made RigExpert takes the cake. I purchased a RigExpert AA-230-ZOOM a couple of months ago and love it. Just wish I could’ve found an equally good deal on the one that goes into the UHF range.
As a matter of principle, I stay away from Chinese products.
Dummy load? Took my boy a while to figure it out. Looks good will consider device. Thanks and God bless. Kv4li 73
Just got mine in yesterday. I LOVE IT! Freakin' Awesome!
I checked all of my HT antennas! None of my Chinese "tri-band" antennas --- were "tri-band" (including the Nagoya). BUT the dual band antennas that came with my BTech/Baofeng tri-bands had better SWR's across all three bands, very good on 440-470 --> good on 1 1/4 If you touched the antenna about half way up. LoL. The Yaesu vx3r antenna was the best. Even better than the Yaesu FT-550 aircraft rubber ducky. The Alinco was really good. Basically, if its an after market Chinese antenna don't trust it.
Note: The SWR radically changed with the position of antenna, how close it was to objects(like your face), and whether or not you used the short coax male to male lead included with the analyzer. I recommend ordering a male to male sma adapter (Not a coax adapter) at the same time.
I also had a good time adjusting my homemade ground plane air band antenna. It's amazing the amount of information a live graph can give. I bent that antenna ten ways from Sunday until I got it perfect. It looks like it got in a fight with a pitbull but there is effectively zero reflected power!
Cool beans! Just ordered one from Amazon Prime for $56. Maybe I can figure out why my mobile HF antenna won't tune for 18 meters. Love that band.
You must mean the 17 meter band - which is ~ 18 mhz.
@@warplanner8852 I do. I get left and right confused as well
A friend gave me one of these as a present a few months ago but it seemed kinda complex. Finally I know how to use it, thanks to your video. Thanks! de ND1L
Awesome!! I am glad it helped!
Great Job Josh! Keep up the good work. 73!
Good video. I have one. Mine is inside of a case. I think I paid 64 bucks for mine. I also have a SARK110. The nanoVNA is what I call the Harbor Freight version of the SARK110. The menu names could have been done a lot better.
Barry
Thanks Josh, I've had a Nano VNA for a good while now and didn't know how to properly calibrated it. Good video Sir. 73
To paraphrase one of my favorite quotes from My Cousin Vinny, 'That is a lucid, intelligent, well thought-out' product demonstration.
Lol thanks.
Have one got it a couple months ago. Love it. Nice to have.
Great representation of the Nano VNA. The one on your link is the exact one I bought. I did a product review on Amazon on 11/9. The one I received has the shielding. Does everything I need it to do, at a price I don't mind paying. Just get a 3D printed case and screen protector and you're good to go! 👍
My wife purchased one today for my birthday which is tomorrow 4/27/2023 Should arrive Friday. Want to use it with my PC for larger screen since I have poor vision. Hope it works well for me! Thanks for the informative video! KE8NVA
Hot dang! Little pocket swr meters are around the same price and do barely anything to compared this gadget.
Booom! very nice presentation ,good job man ,73 and a lot of best DX !!
Excellent video very informative I have just ordered one.
With mine. I have to calibrate every band/ for the bandwidth that I will be testing. In other words, if I test for 70cm and calibrate then try and test for 2 meters the reading will be wrong on my Nap VNA. I would have to recalibrate for 2 meters before testing. It doesn't bother me to do so. Just something I noticed. Thanks for the video!
I think it would work for some of us on field-day. I check my antennas at home first,then at the site.
I'm surprised you said hams don't have a need for the second input, or that it goes "way beyond ham radio." It doesn't. It goes "way beyond" CB radio. As a ham I spend about 30 minutes a year testing antennas. I spend hours using my NanoVNA to sort crystals for filters, measuring inductors and czapoacitors, and identifying ferrite and powdered iron toroids, and designing and tuning high-pass, band-pass, and low-pass filters. Then of course the NanoVNA works as an excellent frequency generator. As an Elmer I tell new hams that after they have a multimeter they need to next get a bench power supply and a NanoVNA, even before a 'scope.
Fair enough well said.
Interesting that the NanoVNA scans the band much faster than your much more expensive Rig Expert. The CPU of the NanoVNA is probably more modern and faster but would be interesting if the accuracy is the same or which is better. To really test the accuracy you probably need a Multi-1000 $ Lab-VNA for a comparison. For home hams the NanoVNA is probably the best value for money!
Nice review.
Just a caution - I suggest buying the NanoVNA from Amazon. I bought mine through eBay and it arrived without an internal battery.
Your mileage may vary
its funny if i have a question you have an answer you and randy are my fav....
Nothing beats the Delta operating impedance bridge. They are $$$ but you don’t need to buy one, you just need it for setup.
Three things that I noticed :
#1 how is it powered. I assume with a battery. But what type of battery and when is it housed. Important it you want to replace the battery.
#2 how does it connect to the antenna's coax. I have never seen an antenna connector like that on the lead of the Nano VNA. So I am assuming that It needs some type of adapter. What kind and type.
#3 can you zoom in on the display like you can with the rigexpert analyzers ?
Thank You!
Hey Josh
Just picked one of these little gems on your Amazom Affiliate page. What a great tool. Thanks for the great video.
BTW we're kinda neighbors
KF6HF
Awesome. Thank for doing that!
Always great videos. Thanks
Thank you for the very informative video! 73 de AC6GM!
Very cool man I wanna get rid if my MFJ now and get a NanoVNA. Looks way cooler and stuffs.
They’re kind of different though.
I have a Ranger 400 watts in a kenworth. I love too try it out on my truck too see if different locations of the antenna too find best locations also test different antennas.
Very useful, I have one and know how to get the best from it now. Thanks.