[Elecraft] OT: Nano VNA

[George Thornton]

Roughly in the same price range is the Array Solutions AIM UHF.

In the course of my HAM career I have used a variety of analyzers.

I have a NanoVNA and it does work, but its menu system is horrible and counter intuitive.  In addition the use of tiny connectors is not ideal for our common N and PL 259 equipment.   It also has to be recalibrated a lot more than other units and that can be a hassle.  I don't completely trust it because I am not always sure I am using it correctly.

My favorite analyzers were the AA series and the AIM UHF.  The AA 600 I owned was a stand alone unit and it was pretty trustworthy.  

The AIM UHF seems to be very similar to the VNWA referenced below and was in approximately the same price range.   It also worked through a computer.    

In the end I much prefer the AIM UHF.  Although it was a bit inconvenient to have to bring along a computer, I found that in nearly every situation it was worth the inconvenience.     For instance, graphing a full SWR curve along a frequency range was very helpful to analyze antenna tune.  You can see exactly how the curve goes including the lowest point and you could make gradual antenna modifications to get perfect tune.  


-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of w2xj
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2021 5:18 AM
To: jim at audiosystemsgroup.com; elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT: Nano VNA

The problem with that is it requires a computer and is apparently limited to Windows software. Nano VNA is self contained. 





> On June 25, 2021 5:00 AM Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:
> 
>  
> On 6/25/2021 1:18 AM, Victor Rosenthal 4X6GP wrote:
> > Only marginally Elecraft related, but I want to buy a Nano VNA.
> 
> In a different price range, but I've been VERY happy with the VNWA 
> designed by DG8SAQ, built and sold as a finished product by these hams 
> in the UK. One of the HUGE pluses is SAQ's software, which is able to 
> compute and plot complex impedance from S11 and S21 measurements. The 
> company also sells very good calibration kits at very reasonable 
> prices, and calibration is key to meaningful measurements. This unit 
> is a serious lab quality instrument, not a toy.
> 
> https://www.sdr-kits.net/introducing-DG8SAQ-VNWA3
> 
> I paid about $700 for the unit with the cal kit, shipped, about 7 
> years ago. The Brexit stupidity has made it about $100 cheaper.
> 
> 73, Jim K9YC
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