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Re: Smith Charts

 

To facilitate matching the 2 charts are overlaid in 2 colors. The immitance
chart used red and green and the one I used had less density on contours.
Consider the possibility of a toggle between them.


Re: Smith Charts

 

I've got the Smith admittance plot running. I assume people use mS rather than S to avoid tiny numbers. Is that right?

Brian


Re: Smith Charts

 

On Tue, Apr 29, 2025 at 02:25 AM, PE0CWK wrote:


my Windows 10 pc? finds a virus

It's a false positive.

First of all, download the latest security intelligence update from Microsoft. I just did, and it does not flag the file as a virus.

Another way to check is to give the URL () to VirusTotal:



It will analyze the file with about 100 virus checkers. Once you're satisfied the file is safe, disable your antivirus software, download the file, and then reenable virus checking. You may need to exclude the .exe files from antivirus scrutiny. See Exclusions here:



Brian


Re: Smith Charts

 

Brian,

F.y.i. When I click on the word program on your page then my Windows 10 pc? finds a virus and does not continue to download.

73, Kees PE0CWK

Op 29-4-2025 om 00:51 schreef Brian Beezley:

I've posted the s-parameter Smith plotter here:



Please read splot.txt to learn the obscure tricks (like how to display a Smith plot!). I will try to free up some screen space for a dedicated Smith button.

I found so many bugs today and of so many kinds that I'm sure there must be some left. Please email if you spot something amiss. My email address is at the bottom of the page referenced above.

When I post a new version, the image at the top of the page will have an updated version number (it's in the upper left). You may have to Ctrl-refresh your browser to refresh your image cache.

Brian





Re: NANO APP

 

On 29/04/2025 04:21, Mark via groups.io wrote:
I have the NANO H4 connected to my laptop and the app is running. However,
I see next to the <DISCONNECTED> is a field where I am supposed to enter
an IP address?? I do not know the IP address or why it would need that.
Please explain.
Mark kd5smf
Mark,

How is your H4 connected? If a serial USB cable, then COM port number rather than IP address. Device Manager will show the COM ports you have.

73,
David GM8ARV
--
SatSignal Software - Quality software for you
Web:
Email: davidtaylor@...
BlueSky: @gm8arv.bsky.social, Twitter: @gm8arv


Re: NANO APP

 

Did you go through those calibration steps on the application or the Nano?
If on the application then you must be connected successfully.

You calibrate on the Nano only when you want to use it as a stand-alone device.

Best Wishes
Tony


Re: H4 + nanovna-saver calibration

 

Using nanaovna-saver, on a -f, I noticed that sometimes the circle on the Smith machine (on a simple capacitor, for example) could be larger than the grid circle.

Now, systematically, even before calibrating with nanaovna-saver, I perform a RESET on the case, which nanovna-saver doesn't seem to do (0.3.8 because W7). This RESET solves the problem.
--
F1AMM
Fran?ois


Re: NANO APP

 

I have the NANO H4 connected to my laptop and the app is running. However,
I see next to the <DISCONNECTED> is a field where I am supposed to enter
an IP address?? I do not know the IP address or why it would need that.
Please explain.
Mark kd5smf


Re: H4 + nanovna-saver calibration

 

Why not have a serious read of the information in the WiKi on this site?
There are several excellent guides there.

Dave - W?LEV

On Mon, Apr 28, 2025 at 11:55?PM Dragan Milivojevic via groups.io
<d.milivojevic@...> wrote:

On Mon, 28 Apr 2025 at 22:25, Dean W8ZF via groups.io <dwfred=
[email protected]> wrote:

Dragan,
This just confuses me again.

"Remove the calibration and save that to the default slot (0 slot) when
using NanoVNA Saver."

Remove *which* calibration? And save *what* to slot 0? Are you talking
about the H4 device? Do you mean from the calibrate menu, choose "Reset"
and then "Save" to memory 0?
What values does this put into memory 0? And since nanovna-saver depends
on the calibration of the H4 device, what is that calibration now (after
reset and store 0)?

Yes, memory 0 should store the uncalibrated state, essentially no
calibration. Saver takes whatever the device gives it, there is nothing in
the serial protocol commands that deal
with calibration data.




"When you calibrate the Nano (on device calibration) in the range as the
documentation suggests 0-900MHz with 401 points..."

Where is there an option on the H4 device to select the number of points
used for calibration? I haven't seen that as a menu option.

I believe that it takes the number of points set on the device. I never use
the device standalone so I don't remember which option it is.





If the calibration of nanovna-saver gives different results, depending on
the state of the H4's calibration, I don't know what to believe.
It's simple: NanoVNA has a simple serial protocol, you can set the
basic parameters, request the scan etc. If your on device calibration
is completely off you will get bad results without or with Saver
calibration since it's working with bad data from the start.



Forgive me, I still don't understand how this works together. I don't
see
why nanovna-saver can't just read raw results from the H4, and then use
those for a calibration (which would make it independent of the H4's
calibration). There have been some mentions about different numbers of
points, about reporting invalid values, etc.

It can, that is why I said that you should store the uncalibrated state
in slot 0. Number of points, BW etc will be set via the serial commands
from the Saver side.


Does anyone KNOW, not guess, what the proper procedure to calibrate this
system using nanovna-saver is? Nanovna-saver is what it is, I'm not
bashing it or trying to change it -- I'm just trying to understand the
limitations and requirements to get good results out of the software.
The
ability to store calibrations, write s-parameter files, and plot using
different formats is invaluable to me. I *really* want to use it for
these
features, but not if I can't be sure of the measurement.

It really isn't that complicated, it becomes pretty obvious when you
examine the NanoVNA serial protocol documentation.





--

*Dave - W?LEV*


--
Dave - W?LEV


Re: H4 + nanovna-saver calibration

 

It depends on how different the results are. Remember, the FW interpolates
between measured and stored cal values. Saver can be configured with 1001
points so the cal. sampling is much finer than a cal. on the native NANOVNA
(without SAVER).

***

Saver can do unlimited (in theory) number of points. It will just do
the required points
in segments. For H4 that would be X times 401 points to get to your desired
number of points.
Word of warning: Saver is a Python single thread software, after a certain
number of points it becomes
time consuming to process more that ~5K points on a single CPU core.




Again, using SAVER, there is the option to use considerably more points for
calibratioin: Native is 401 points, SAVER allows up to 1001 points. So
extrapolation between measured points using the two calibrations will be
coarser with the native VNA cal than with the SAVER cal.

Just avoid extrapolation: use the same frequency span when measuring as you
did when you calibrated ...


Re: H4 + nanovna-saver calibration

 

On Mon, 28 Apr 2025 at 22:25, Dean W8ZF via groups.io <dwfred=
[email protected]> wrote:

Dragan,
This just confuses me again.

"Remove the calibration and save that to the default slot (0 slot) when
using NanoVNA Saver."

Remove *which* calibration? And save *what* to slot 0? Are you talking
about the H4 device? Do you mean from the calibrate menu, choose "Reset"
and then "Save" to memory 0?
What values does this put into memory 0? And since nanovna-saver depends
on the calibration of the H4 device, what is that calibration now (after
reset and store 0)?

Yes, memory 0 should store the uncalibrated state, essentially no
calibration. Saver takes whatever the device gives it, there is nothing in
the serial protocol commands that deal
with calibration data.




"When you calibrate the Nano (on device calibration) in the range as the
documentation suggests 0-900MHz with 401 points..."

Where is there an option on the H4 device to select the number of points
used for calibration? I haven't seen that as a menu option.

I believe that it takes the number of points set on the device. I never use
the device standalone so I don't remember which option it is.





If the calibration of nanovna-saver gives different results, depending on
the state of the H4's calibration, I don't know what to believe.
It's simple: NanoVNA has a simple serial protocol, you can set the
basic parameters, request the scan etc. If your on device calibration
is completely off you will get bad results without or with Saver
calibration since it's working with bad data from the start.



Forgive me, I still don't understand how this works together. I don't see
why nanovna-saver can't just read raw results from the H4, and then use
those for a calibration (which would make it independent of the H4's
calibration). There have been some mentions about different numbers of
points, about reporting invalid values, etc.

It can, that is why I said that you should store the uncalibrated state
in slot 0. Number of points, BW etc will be set via the serial commands
from the Saver side.


Does anyone KNOW, not guess, what the proper procedure to calibrate this
system using nanovna-saver is? Nanovna-saver is what it is, I'm not
bashing it or trying to change it -- I'm just trying to understand the
limitations and requirements to get good results out of the software. The
ability to store calibrations, write s-parameter files, and plot using
different formats is invaluable to me. I *really* want to use it for these
features, but not if I can't be sure of the measurement.

It really isn't that complicated, it becomes pretty obvious when you
examine the NanoVNA serial protocol documentation.


Re: Smith Charts

 

I've posted the s-parameter Smith plotter here:



Please read splot.txt to learn the obscure tricks (like how to display a Smith plot!). I will try to free up some screen space for a dedicated Smith button.

I found so many bugs today and of so many kinds that I'm sure there must be some left. Please email if you spot something amiss. My email address is at the bottom of the page referenced above.

When I post a new version, the image at the top of the page will have an updated version number (it's in the upper left). You may have to Ctrl-refresh your browser to refresh your image cache.

Brian


Re: H4 calibration

 

On Mon, Apr 28, 2025 at 03:23 PM, Andreas Ott K6OTT wrote:


Am I reading this right as: I should always configure the stimulus range
first, and then calibrate. For example, if I want to get an overall (not
finely granular) sweep of a multiband antenna from 3...30MHz, I would first
select this as stimulus range and then calibrate?
Yes Reset first and then calibrate


If I then want to show a single band, like just 40m or 20m, I would again set those respective
ranges and recalibrate?

If what you are measuring does not have sharp valleys and peaks in SWR then you can just reduce the stimulus range on some NanoVNA's (like the -H and -H4) and the device will interpolate between the calibrated points and give you a fairly good estimate of SWR and Return loss.

But your best option if you are only interested in HF is to calibrate for the entire HF band from 2 to 30 MHz and store that in slot 0. Then calibrate and store your other favorite bands in the remaining slots. That way you can turn it on and be set to go.

Roger


Re: H4 calibration

 

You got it! Yes.

Dave - W?LEV

On Mon, Apr 28, 2025 at 10:24?PM Andreas Ott K6OTT via groups.io <andreas=
[email protected]> wrote:

Hello,

On Tue, Apr 22, 2025 at 8:40?AM Roger Need via groups.io <sailtamarack=
[email protected]> wrote:

You will only have valid measurements within the frequency range you
calibrated.

Am I reading this right as: I should always configure the stimulus range
first, and then calibrate. For example, if I want to get an overall (not
finely granular) sweep of a multiband antenna from 3...30MHz, I would first
select this as stimulus range and then calibrate? If I then want to show a
single band, like just 40m or 20m, I would again set those respective
ranges and recalibrate?

Thanks, andreas K6OTT





--

*Dave - W?LEV*


--
Dave - W?LEV


Re: H4 calibration

 

Hello,

On Tue, Apr 22, 2025 at 8:40?AM Roger Need via groups.io <sailtamarack=
[email protected]> wrote:

You will only have valid measurements within the frequency range you
calibrated.

Am I reading this right as: I should always configure the stimulus range
first, and then calibrate. For example, if I want to get an overall (not
finely granular) sweep of a multiband antenna from 3...30MHz, I would first
select this as stimulus range and then calibrate? If I then want to show a
single band, like just 40m or 20m, I would again set those respective
ranges and recalibrate?

Thanks, andreas K6OTT


Re: H4 + nanovna-saver calibration

 

I'm real time on my H4, so hope this maps to yours.

QUOTE (Dean, W8ZF): This just confuses me again. "Remove the calibration
and save that to the default slot (0 slot) when using NanoVNA Saver."

Remove *which* calibration? And save *what* to slot 0? Are you talking
about the H4 device? Do you mean from the calibrate menu, choose "Reset"
and then "Save" to memory 0?
What values does this put into memory 0? And since nanovna-saver depends
on the calibration of the H4 device, what is that calibration now (after
reset and store 0)?

"When you calibrate the Nano (on device calibration) in the range as the
documentation suggests 0-900MHz with 401 points..."

Where is there an option on the H4 device to select the number of points
used for calibration? I haven't seen that as a menu option.

Calibrating on the native NANOVNA, there is no choice for number of
points. I believe it will default to the maximum number of points which is
401 (??).

Always remember to "RESET" before a new calibration.
***

If the calibration of nanovna-saver gives different results, depending on
the state of the H4's calibration, I don't know what to believe.

It depends on how different the results are. Remember, the FW interpolates
between measured and stored cal values. Saver can be configured with 1001
points so the cal. sampling is much finer than a cal. on the native NANOVNA
(without SAVER).
***

Forgive me, I still don't understand how this works together. I don't see
why nanovna-saver can't just read raw results from the H4, and then use
those for a calibration (which would make it independent of the H4's
calibration). There have been some mentions about different numbers of
points, about reporting invalid values, etc.

Again, using SAVER, there is the option to use considerably more points for
calibratioin: Native is 401 points, SAVER allows up to 1001 points. So
extrapolation between measured points using the two calibrations will be
coarser with the native VNA cal than with the SAVER cal.

If you simply were able to upload the native cal (H4 alone) to SAVER, you
would not take advantage of a number of additional measurements and
presentations. SAVER is considerably more powerful than the FW within the
native NANOVNA.
*


Does anyone KNOW, not guess, what the proper procedure to calibrate this
system using nanovna-saver is? Nanovna-saver is what it is, I'm not
bashing it or trying to change it -- I'm just trying to understand the
limitations and requirements to get good results out of the software. The
ability to store calibrations, write s-parameter files, and plot using
different formats is invaluable to me. I *really* want to use it for these
features, but not if I can't be sure of the measurement.

Once you have "woke up" your NANOVNA by a native calibration, connect and
run SAVER. Treat SAVER as a totally independent set of FW/SW from that
within the NANOVNA. SAVER has all the options to connect, reset, do a
complete cal potentially with more points than the native NANOVNA can
support. Again, SAVER offers much more capability the the FW embedded
within the native NANOVNA.
***

General Comment: Remember we are not expecting metrology lab comparisons
between the native NANOVNA and the SAVER results/measurements. Differences
with carefully and faithfully duplicated setups, disagreements in the first
significant figure, or maybe in the second, should be of little concern.

For example, if you measure a single 50-ohm resistos with three different
DMMs, you will get three different results. Here you go using a stock
50-¦¸, 3%, 1-watt resistor:
[image: image.png]


INSTRUMENT MEASURED VALUE (¦¸)

HP 3478A 49.994

Cen-Tek P37772 50.1xx

Sperry DM-6400 49.8xx

HP 4261A LCR Mtr 50.8xx

Well, which one would you pick? Is it a 50-¦¸ resistor? None of the
measurements indicate it's 50-¦¸. Is it within the 3% specification of ¡À1.5
% or ¡À 0.75 ohms? Yes, by three of the four measured values made on four
different instruments.

Dave - W?LEV

On Mon, Apr 28, 2025 at 8:25?PM Dean W8ZF via groups.io <dwfred=
[email protected]> wrote:

Dragan,
This just confuses me again.

"Remove the calibration and save that to the default slot (0 slot) when
using NanoVNA Saver."

Remove *which* calibration? And save *what* to slot 0? Are you talking
about the H4 device? Do you mean from the calibrate menu, choose "Reset"
and then "Save" to memory 0?
What values does this put into memory 0? And since nanovna-saver depends
on the calibration of the H4 device, what is that calibration now (after
reset and store 0)?

"When you calibrate the Nano (on device calibration) in the range as the
documentation suggests 0-900MHz with 401 points..."

Where is there an option on the H4 device to select the number of points
used for calibration? I haven't seen that as a menu option.

If the calibration of nanovna-saver gives different results, depending on
the state of the H4's calibration, I don't know what to believe.
Forgive me, I still don't understand how this works together. I don't see
why nanovna-saver can't just read raw results from the H4, and then use
those for a calibration (which would make it independent of the H4's
calibration). There have been some mentions about different numbers of
points, about reporting invalid values, etc.

Does anyone KNOW, not guess, what the proper procedure to calibrate this
system using nanovna-saver is? Nanovna-saver is what it is, I'm not
bashing it or trying to change it -- I'm just trying to understand the
limitations and requirements to get good results out of the software. The
ability to store calibrations, write s-parameter files, and plot using
different formats is invaluable to me. I *really* want to use it for these
features, but not if I can't be sure of the measurement.

73,
Dean W8ZF





--

*Dave - W?LEV*


--
Dave - W?LEV


Re: H4 + nanovna-saver calibration

 

Can anyone direct me to the latest SAFE version of nanovna-app? I went to GitHub and found a branch under DiSlord. There is a Win32 release of NanoVNA-App.exe from 2 months ago. When I try to run it, it fails the MS Defender malware scan. That is common for many apps that don't pay MS for the "safe" tag, so it may be fine. I just wanted to verify before I bypassed the warning and ran it.
Thanks,
Dean W8ZF


Re: H4 + nanovna-saver calibration

 

Dragan,
This just confuses me again.

"Remove the calibration and save that to the default slot (0 slot) when
using NanoVNA Saver."

Remove *which* calibration? And save *what* to slot 0? Are you talking about the H4 device? Do you mean from the calibrate menu, choose "Reset" and then "Save" to memory 0?
What values does this put into memory 0? And since nanovna-saver depends on the calibration of the H4 device, what is that calibration now (after reset and store 0)?

"When you calibrate the Nano (on device calibration) in the range as the
documentation suggests 0-900MHz with 401 points..."

Where is there an option on the H4 device to select the number of points used for calibration? I haven't seen that as a menu option.

If the calibration of nanovna-saver gives different results, depending on the state of the H4's calibration, I don't know what to believe.
Forgive me, I still don't understand how this works together. I don't see why nanovna-saver can't just read raw results from the H4, and then use those for a calibration (which would make it independent of the H4's calibration). There have been some mentions about different numbers of points, about reporting invalid values, etc.

Does anyone KNOW, not guess, what the proper procedure to calibrate this system using nanovna-saver is? Nanovna-saver is what it is, I'm not bashing it or trying to change it -- I'm just trying to understand the limitations and requirements to get good results out of the software. The ability to store calibrations, write s-parameter files, and plot using different formats is invaluable to me. I *really* want to use it for these features, but not if I can't be sure of the measurement.

73,
Dean W8ZF


Re: Smith Charts

 

AppCAD. Brian, I mentioned this way back when you started this plotter project.

It is now available as....

And is the old HP semiconductor group, formed AVAGO semi off shoot and now under BROADCOM.

It does more than S parameter 2 port circuit analysis and is quite worthwhile to bring into a classroom environment.
Program permits up to 6 s data files to be compared and I have used it to illustrate stability analysis on amplifiers as
I can add feedback and compare an unstable s data file with one that is stabilized.

Many features at an attractive price,,,

Alan


S22 - Re: [nanovna-users] Smith Charts

 

No relay to switch the source to the second port.
(and no bridge on the second port, either)
The NanoVNA doesn't use a directional coupler - it's a straight up bridge on Ch0 and a pad on Ch1.

Now that you mention it, that would have been a fairly easy thing (but hard to fit in the original 2x3" size)

You can, in fact, use two NanoVNAs with SMA T connectors to do a full 4 parameter measurement without having to move cables. You can "almost" do it simultaneously, even. If NanoVNA B sees the sweep from NanoVNA A, (or vice versa) you get a momentary spike in the displayed data.
I tried it using NanoVNA-Saver (running two separate instances) and it calibrates nicely, etc.

-----Original Message-----
From: <[email protected]>
Sent: Apr 28, 2025 7:52 AM
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] Smith Charts

Brian,
S22 is also useful and a Smith chart presentation would be desirable. But this would have less priority because the nanovna does not have the capability to measure it. Plus, you can always measure s22 by reversing your ports and measuring S11.
I dont know if the nanovna lacks the second directional coupler or the chipset has this limitation, but you can work around, for $70!

73,
Dean W8ZF