NanoVNA for HAM Radio Introduction - TheSmokinApe
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2019
- NanoVNA for HAM Radio Introduction - TheSmokinApe
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Just a quick video where I talk about the NanoVNA ($55) and how I plan to use it for HAM Radio. I am new to VNAs so if you have info, tips or tricks please leave a comment below.
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TheSmokinApe
At 3:25: Why does every presenter go through these menu options as if we all have done/seen them a hundred times? Slooooooow down, please. At 4:00 had to replay 3x to see that you hit SWR. Yeah, I can hit pause and resume 50 times, but why not solve the issue at the get-go? 6:38 explaining the colored lines...great, but voice drops way down on last one...".impedance"? 7:15 - the "open" adaptor? Which one is that? Same for the others. Finally, why not start with the calibration? However, even with my critique, I learned a few more tidbits and I really thank you. Maybe after a dozen vids, we'll have all the info we need to use the VNA!
Glad you liked the video 👍
Maybe you should ask for your money back?
@@utubeaccess7 Yup, you get what you paid for.
Watched the video four times and I understand it less than then I started
It is human nature James Keough. I use a open source 3D program called blender. It was terrible to use when I first started in 2001. And all the so called tutorials were presented as though you already knew the 50% of the program. It has gotten better in the last 20 years but not by much.
Thanks for a straightforward intro to NanoVNA. I've tried several times to read up on Smith Charts, but playing with this device has made things a lot clearer.
Glad you liked the video!
Nice video, Thanks. I just ordered one to test my antennas :) Look forward to your next NanoVNA vid.
Thanks, glad you liked it!
Just what i needed! Thank you! I just unpacked mine and found exactly the instructions into this complex device that fit my needs! Keep it burning!
Nice, glad it helped 👍
Finally getting into gear to learn my nano VNA and here is where I started. Thank you for making these!
Glad they are helpful Mike 👍
Good stuff as always, Brett. I just ordered the NanoVNA-H this afternoon off Amazon! Looking forward to putting this to use building some proper antennas!
Glad you liked the video, good luck with the antennas 👍
Hi, what is you experience with NanoVNA-H (4)? Can you recommend it?
This really helped as a quickstart with the Nano VNA. THANK YOU!
Awesome 👍
Thanks for your videos ! Just ordered the 4" version with the N type connectors. Heavy metal case... calibration slugs included. Needed to sweep my Diamond x300. This will do it nicely.
Thanks again for taking the time and effort to produce these videos.
Albert. EI7II.
Glad you like the videos Albert, that N type VNA it s nice 👍
interesting device - yet another thing to learn :)
Ain’t nobody got time for that! 👍
Excellent introduction. That's all I needed to get started and take a quick SWR measurement.
The Tech Prepper they are a fun piece of test gear 👍
Awesome primer on using this device for real world testing of equipment!
Thanks, glad you liked it 👍
Must have.....need....want! I really want to understand more about Smith Charts too.
Yeah, it’s a cool little tool to play around with. Hopefully I can learn to use it!
Thanks for this video!
No prob, hope it was helpful 👍
Thanks for explaining it to a new guy a lot of people made it sound like rocket science to me...thanks again 😎🤙🏾73
No prob, glad you liked it 👍
@@TheSmokinApe let's hope I get a real one when I order 1🤣👍🏽
Good luck 👍
@@TheSmokinApe thanks speak soon 👍🏽
I am really finding your videos excellent. Especially your videos on antennas. FYI - anyone that has issues with your speed I think the dummies series might work for them. LOL
Thanks David, glad you like the videos. Thanks for watching!
Thanks
Glad you liked it 👍
One of the things we do in the industry is to calibrate the OSL to the end of the cable you will use to test to the antenna. So one of the included cables could be your permanent test cable that you calibrate
👍
Thank you. I'm trying to decide on a vna.
I have a video where I talk about the different models. Best of luck with whatever you choose, thanks for watching Buzz 👍
These videos are great and very helpful. I calibrated mine and hooked it up to a Dual Band J-Pole and got some encouraging results. I'm a brand new Ham getting ready to put the first roof mounted vertical on our house. I'm wondering if I can use the NanoVNA to tune a new vertical antenna without a classic SWR meter? Seems like it should work...?
Yeah, you can use it for that. Glad you like the videos John 👍
Thank you very much, I had no manual with mine so I did not know how to calibrate. I saved it to ch1 like you did, does that mean when I turn it off I have go to some sort of memory or do I just use it please. thank you Patrick G4YBP
Yes, it will save to the channel for use when you turn it on next time. 👍
@@TheSmokinApe Thank you again, we need more people like you to help us out. Patrick
Thanks! Glad you like the videos 👍
Great video . My nano arrived last night. What type of cable to I need to connect my antenna? Male sma to so-239?
Thanks man! Sma male to so-239 should work 👍
Does it need to be calibrated for each band tested for SWR ? So calibrate when I am looking at 80 meters ? Then calibrate again when i want to look at 10 meters ? Or just calibrate once and it will be accurate on all ham bands ?
Just calibrate it and it should work on bands. If something doesn’t look right calibrate in the frequency you are testing. 👍
Can I use this to scan say 470-608mhz and get a reading of where all the UHF TV stations are?
This scans antennas, not airwaves.
Possibly. I don't have one myself, but try hooking it to the tv antenna and see what happens. It shouldn't hurt anything, after all it's made to check antennas.
I have a CR8900A Diamond quad antenna 10m/6m/2m/70cm FM Mobile antenna , am I able to get all 4 bands below 1.5?
Yes
Is there a way to calibrate it for 75 ohms?
Sorry man, not that I’m aware of...
does it come with a conection to join to a pl259?
It does not
More awesome info dude thanks
Thanks UC 👍
Does this have to be calibrated each time it is turned on?
No, it does not 👍
I have seen many of nanovna and nobody go through the specification and function first, basically all do the same routine, question is this device capabble of screen printing using the USB port? or do you have to do it using your computer?
MILENEO3 I do screen printing with the computer 👍
@@TheSmokinApe Thanks
👍
Your my lil nano!
Good evening sir I hope you and your family are well I have a simple question, on the VNA, does it have a different display , so we could see DTF over length , so it would resemble small squares with values at each line , or does it only have the Smith chart...
I purchased the Nano VNA Very tiny handheld network Analyzer.... I am working away from home and I am very excited to to go home and start making antennas ....
It only have the grid lines and the Smith chart which can be toggled 👍
Okay great , thank you for your time , I ended up buying the Upgraded] AURSINC NanoVNA-H Vector Network Analyzer 10KHz -1.5GHz Latest HW Version 3.6 | HF VHF UHF Antenna Analyzer Measuring S Parameters, Voltage Standing Wave Ratio, Phase, Delay, Smith Chart (New) ..
I work in the telecommunications industry so all of this is familiar to me , I am currently working out of town on a Rogers cell tower 8 hours north of my home, and the VNA is there waiting for when I go back next week , I am excited to play with some new gear .
I use the Anritzu 332E for my sweeps .
Anyway thank you for the recommendation on the NANO VNA .
Congrats on the purchase, you will like it.
I have an SMA female to an SO-239 female so that I can connect up coax to the VNA. My question is, are the 2 SMA connections on the VNA, male or female? I am hoping they are male. Thank you.
Sorry man, that are sma-f or female
@@TheSmokinApe So I need a Male-to-Male SMA. But the Patchcords that come with the VNA, I assume they would be Male-to-Male. So that would work.
That would probably work 👍
Hey Ape, I think I'm ready for a Nano VNA and I want to get it from one of your sponsors. What do you recommend today. 73
I'd go with randl.com
Got mine few days ago - quite nice - my issue is when using the switch to turn off the unit, a blue LED stays on and runs the battery down so each time I have to recharge the thing - 73
Mine will stay on for a few minutes and then turn off. Does yours stay on?
TheSmokinApe Yes! No issue but what you will want to do is take the power cable (USB to usb C cable) and plug it in to a 5 VDC supply such as your cellphone charger OR computer to charge the battery for several hours then it should be fine. My issue is the thing shuts off but the blue LED next to the connector stays on thus eventually draining the battery- Good luck -
Thank for the update 👍
TheSmokinApe Thank you! The issue is... once the unit is completed it’s charge and I turn off the unit with its power switch, one of the blue LEDs remain “On” and eventually drains the battery. Also I am trying to figure out how to return the unit to its factory default mode - I see no wat of doing that- thought perhaps there maybe a reset button on the board - there has to be a way- if you know how would certainly appreciate your input! 73 de K8KEM
@@davideisenberger6197 The only thing I can think is maybe a firmware reinstall? I haven't seen a way to do a reset.
Love your channel but you forgot to mention that you HAVE TO HAVE a SNA to PL-259 adapter. BUT every video I have seen on RUclips seems to forget that. One question. Why does the SWR change when you move the device around ?
There is little shielding on this VNA, when you touch the VNA you are adding capacitive coupling which messes with the reading.
@@TheSmokinApe Thanks for the quick and understandable answer to that question. But that is why I check your channel at least once a week. BTW I asked you a question about baluns on a comment to one of you videos ( But I cannot remember which one now) I found a good site that explained why you need a balun very simply. Now I just need to figure out which ratio of current balun that I need.
What does "HAM" stand for?
Oh... Hark, Another Moron (who doesn't know it's 'ham', not, 'HAM'....)
It’s my video, so frankly it’s whatever I want regardless of what some piss ass troll prefers.
For some reason I have blown up 2 nano VNAs. I am done with them. I will stick with my rig expert and O scope. And I was careful.
Dang, that would upset me,
I just got one. I'm a real noob and not quite sure which of those gold caps are
The are calibration standard for calibration of the NanoVNA. I cover them in the video 👍
@@TheSmokinApe I know but I think I know which one is the load. The other 2 I really can't tell.
Put them on and see where they read, should line up with how they did in the video 👍
The load is silver, the open has a hole on it, the short has a pin mounted on a small disk 👍
You are not checking the resonant frequency correctly. You will find that the antenna is designed to be correct when attached to the WT and held near your head. You will probably find the resonant points will move into the Ham bands! M0iiZ
Must be a vape
Did a vape show up?
TheSmokinApe it looked like one and you are “TheSmokingApe” so that would’ve been a really cool vape
Test Fortester haha, I do vape! 👍
Just connecting the antenna in that method is not going to give you accurate results. You need a counterpoise to work against the antenna.
just hold the unit as you would an HT. should be pretty close to how the antenna would perform on your HT.
Might be better to know what you are talking about b4 doing this review., An understanding of the Smith chart as well as how it depicts inductive and capacitive reactances is essential to fully understand the capability of this device. Just showing the VSWR info is almost pointless.
Thanks for the feedback, I wouldn’t call the video a review but an introduction to a new tool I picked up. I tried to be pretty clear about that and the fact that I got it to learn. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough... Either way I do appreciate the feedback.
@@TheSmokinApe Nah. Very clear. I personally appreciated the video, for just seeing what the menus and screen options looked like. I also didn't know it came with an internal battery. Lots of basic into bits that were helpful for me.
Thanks man!
@@TheSmokinApe My point was just a suggestion and I appreciate you taking it that way. You have presented many interesting and informative reviews. This is really a very slick tool and rivals the HIGH DOLLAY HP 8743 ES in my lab. The new cost was over $35K. However with my options it is good up to 6 GHz. The cal kit alone was over $4k.
It's an entirely different ball game above 1 Gig, where things become very bizarre to even very small changes.
One thing I hope this tool will do is help MANY Hams to better understand the Smith Chart. This seems to be a mystery to most Hams I have known in my 45 years as a Ham. First licensed when I just turned 15.
Understanding how inductance and capacitance affect a load is important if you really want to understand antenna's, transmitter final tanks and even filters...
The good thing is contrary to popular thinking, understanding these principles is not difficult and now that this CHEAP VNA is available, I believe many Hams will learn more about this area of our hobby.
Good luck with you reviews.
Thanks for the follow up, that's exactly why I picked this VNA up...