[NLRS] NLRS Breakfast - last show-n-tell

[Bob Scruggs]

I got the NanoVNA too. Paid a bit less for mine, Have had it a month, but
have not fired it up yet. They do have a forum for it. 


-----Original Message-----
From: nlrs-bounces at mailman.qth.net <nlrs-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf
Of Doug Reed
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2019 7:35 PM
To: Don Huettl <dahuettl at gmail.com>
Cc: nlrs at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [NLRS] NLRS Breakfast - last show-n-tell

I brought the NanoVNA. They showed up on Ebay and I decided to buy one to
see what it looked like. They all seem to start in the $80 and up range.
There are white and black models, I think the black is slightly newer. As
always with Ebay, you have multiple vendors selling newer and older models
of the same product, so do some reading to see if you can choose a later
model. As you saw and Donn commented, the whole unit is tiny (credit-card
size) and the display is also tiny and hard to read unless you have very
good eyes, or are near-sighted without glasses. :-)

It looked to me that all the vendors sold basically the same kit with the
NanoVNA, two 12" SMA cables (RG174?), one double-female SMA adapter, and
three SMA males for OSL calibration. The charging cable is a newer USB
Type-C cable. It doesn't come with anything resembling instructions, but
there are a few web sites starting to show info about the units and you can
find the original (?) info by searching for "github nanovna" or use this
link <https://github.com/ttrftech/NanoVNA>. The next step would be to join
the Groups.io NanoVNA group for support and update info. And they did a
simple (Getting Started level) user manual
<https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/attachment/14/0/NanoVNA%20User%20Guide_20
190527..pdf>.

You *WILL* need to buy a small point touch-screen stylus to make it easier
to change settings on the NanoVNA. I'm not sure I trust the
RG174(?) coax jumpers they supplied because I've seen instability in
readings due to foam dielectric in the past. Solid poly isn't bad, but
Teflon dielectric is more stable, so you might need to buy a couple Teflon
SMA jumper cables on Ebay. I also bought about $40 of assorted cheap SMA to
N, BNC, & UHF connectors to mostly complete the test kit.
The remaining annoyance is the fact that the edges of the front, back, and
PCB panels are exposed all around the edges. I was joking once before about
maybe a big rubber band would close the edge, but perhaps someone will
eventually 3D-print edges for the case.... So far I have everything I
mentioned stored in a plastic case for 3x5 index cards.

One of the blogs I read about the NanoVNA was very negative and disappointed
that a product using a 0-200MHz oscillator was advertising a 900MHz
operating range. I believe its all done with harmonics and a lot of math.
The same person seemed upset that it didn't have full RF specs up to 900MHz,
but I specifically read about the lowered dynamic range as you go higher in
frequency and I decided I can live with it. As far as I'm concerned, it will
still have more dynamic range than I need for measuring any antenna, RX
front-end, or single cavity I'll ever see. No, it will not read a duplexor
rejection notch 100dB down, but very few pieces of equipment will....

I'll let you do the rest of the research yourself....

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.


On 8/19/19, Don Huettl <dahuettl at gmail.com> wrote:
> Donn and Doug brought network analyzer show-n-tell hardware to the 
> Golden Corral. Are there any Internet links to the items?
> -Thanks, Don H. - K0AH
> ______________________________________________________________
> NLRS mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/nlrs
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:NLRS at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email 
> list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>


--
Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional!

When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected.
______________________________________________________________
NLRS mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/nlrs
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:NLRS at mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html