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Re: Nano-VNA H4 Control Knob doesn't work.

 

If I work really hard, and adjust the screws, I can fins a spot where the screen seems to work. But I still can¡¯t get the control Knob to work at all. Is there an internal connector or ribbon connector that may have come loose? I hesitate to take it all apart, because I am negotiating with the company I bought it from to see how they can make it right.


Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

I have an H4 with latest DiSlord 1.2 firmware.
But all of the SD card support firmware was done by DiSlord, and was
introduced several versions ago - and it uses the same SPI interface on all
of the hardware units that his firmware supports, so there should not be a
difference in types of cards supported by different hardware/firmware
versions.

On Tue, Jun 7, 2022 at 10:44 AM gfmucci via groups.io <gfmucci=
[email protected]> wrote:

On Tue, Jun 7, 2022 at 10:20 AM, Stan Dye wrote:


Which cards are proven to work with the NanoVNA-H?
I don't know of an easy way to see the SPI compatibility of a card. But
these Patriot cards work (see photo). I purchased them inexpensively on
Amazon.
Stan:

Which NanoVNA did you have and which software version? I assume this
makes a difference regarding SD card compatibility?






Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

On Tue, Jun 7, 2022 at 10:20 AM, Stan Dye wrote:


Which cards are proven to work with the NanoVNA-H?
I don't know of an easy way to see the SPI compatibility of a card. But
these Patriot cards work (see photo). I purchased them inexpensively on
Amazon.
Stan:

Which NanoVNA did you have and which software version? I assume this makes a difference regarding SD card compatibility?


Re: The T-Check confusion

 

In the meantime I found a document:

<I got a warning the document might hve issues, but downloading it gave no
problems...>
Any other source is still welcome.

Op di 7 jun. 2022 om 18:28 schreef Victor Reijs via groups.io
<pe1atn.victor.reijs@...>:

Hello Kurt,

Do you have a definition of this 10/12 term correction method? I am
interested in understanding it. Thanks.

All the best,

Victor






SD cards that might work using SPI mode in nVNAs

 

Figured this could use its own thread.







Please provide links where possible. I have had some instances where SD cards that /looked/ like they were what I wanted, turned out not to be compatible.
1.6 SD CARD
SNP files and screen images are saved with names VNA_yymmdd_hhmmss, and extensions of s1p, s2p, or bmp. Although it seems that the SD cards can be hot-swapped, the NanoVNA beta group recommends powering off to install or remove SD cards. The NanoVNA SD card reader is connected to the SPI bus, and only supports microSD cards up to 32GB in SPI mode. Some high-speed SD cards may not support SPI mode. The SPI mode is an alternative operating mode that is defined to use the MMC/SD cards on microcontrollers without a native host interface. The MMC/SD can be used on a microcontroller via a generic SPI interface. See STMicroelectronics AN5595 "SPC58xEx/SPC58xGx multimedia card via SPI interface".

~R~
72/73 de Rich NE1EE
The Dusty Key
On the banks of the Piscataqua


Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

On 2022-06-07 10:00:-0700, you wrote:

Which cards are proven to work with the NanoVNA-H?

I don't want a collection of 16GB cards that don't work.
You can use up to 32 GB.
Finding out which cards are SPI compatible is another thing. You just have to search. Not sure how to find out for most. I tried to find out for SanDisk, and had no success.


Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

Which cards are proven to work with the NanoVNA-H?
I don't know of an easy way to see the SPI compatibility of a card. But
these Patriot cards work (see photo). I purchased them inexpensively on
Amazon.


Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

On 2022-06-07 09:15:-0700, you wrote:

Use a different card. Some manufacturer's cards just don't support the
protocol used by the nanovna firmware.
See this post:
/g/nanovna-users/message/26892
1.6 SD CARD
SNP files and screen images are saved with names VNA_yymmdd_hhmmss, and extensions of s1p, s2p, or bmp. Although it seems that the SD cards can be hot-swapped, the NanoVNA beta group recommends powering off to install or remove SD cards. The NanoVNA SD card reader is connected to the SPI bus, and only supports microSD cards up to 32GB in SPI mode. Some high-speed SD cards may not support SPI mode. The SPI mode is an alternative operating mode that is defined to use the MMC/SD cards on microcontrollers without a native host interface. The MMC/SD can be used on a microcontroller via a generic SPI interface. See STMicroelectronics AN5595 "SPC58xEx/SPC58xGx multimedia card via SPI interface".

I looked at some circuit specs with hot-swapping in mind. It seems that there is no definitive restriction on hot-swapping, but system hardware design plays a role. Not knowing the detail of hardware design nor the firmware SD card interface, I agree that caution suggests not hot-swapping. That's unfortunate for me, because I tended in the past to run some tests which left the VNA in an altered state, saved some files to the SD card, swapped it to my computer, copied/moved the files, and returned the SD card to the VNA, all so that I could run on battery (no USB) and not have to reconfigure the VNA each time I did this. I realize that there are work-arounds to each of these steps.


Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

Which cards are proven to work with the NanoVNA-H?

I don't want a collection of 16GB cards that don't work.


Re: Nanovnasaver plots

 

On Tue, Jun 7, 2022 at 07:03 AM, Victor Reijs wrote:

Here is the Zsource I derived (using the method of Owen Duffy). I used one
100ohm SMD resistor (99ohm using DVM) soldered between two female SMA PCB
connectors:
Could you please provide a link to the "Duffy method" of determining Zsource?

Roger


Re: The T-Check confusion

 

Hello Kurt,

Do you have a definition of this 10/12 term correction method? I am interested in understanding it. Thanks.

All the best,

Victor


Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

Use a different card. Some manufacturer's cards just don't support the
protocol used by the nanovna firmware.
See this post:
/g/nanovna-users/message/26892


On Tue, Jun 7, 2022, 8:29 AM gfmucci via groups.io <gfmucci=
[email protected]> wrote:

Below are the test results from my 16 GB SD card...

Warning: Only 14753 of 14754 MByte tested.
Test finished without errors.
You can now delete the test files *.h2w or verify them again.
Writing speed: 13.9 MByte/s
Reading speed: 28.2 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

Next trouble shooting step?







Re: NanoVNA - Signal Generator

 

In Expert settings there is the reference frequency you may change to your like, so I had to decrease that value a little bit (by 45 units afaik) such I now read 300.00000 an my counter.


Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

Below are the test results from my 16 GB SD card...

Warning: Only 14753 of 14754 MByte tested.
Test finished without errors.
You can now delete the test files *.h2w or verify them again.
Writing speed: 13.9 MByte/s
Reading speed: 28.2 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

Next trouble shooting step?


Re: Nanovnasaver plots

 

Here is the Zsource I derived (using the method of Owen Duffy). I used one
100ohm SMD resistor (99ohm using DVM) soldered between two female SMA PCB
connectors:
[image: afbeelding.png]
Zsource indeed close to 43ohm... So it might be that I can explain the
differences. I really had not expected that Zsource was so different from
50ohms....
Need to think about this all;-)

All the best,

Victor

Op di 7 jun. 2022 om 15:10 schreef Victor Reijs via groups.io
<pe1atn.victor.reijs@...>:

Hello ROger,

I check again and if I use a Zsource of around 43ohm and a Zload as
measured using the S11reflect of port2.
Using that Zsource gives me more or less comparable graphs for the
differently derived Zdut's.
[image: afbeelding.png]
From (Fig. 10)
2 port series-through:
Z2pseries(S11)=(Zsource+Zload)*S11/(1-S11) (red)
Z2pseries(S21)=(Zource+Zload)*(1-S21)/S21 (green)
Z2pseriesrefl(S11)=Zo*(1+S11)/(1-S11)-Zload (blue)
1port reflection:
Z1prefl(S11)= Zo*(1+S11)/(1-S11) (orange)


[image: afbeelding.png]
So I really will need to determine Zsource for my NanoVNA. Will work on
that now.

All the ebay,

Victor


Op di 7 jun. 2022 om 12:27 schreef Victor Reijs via groups.io
<pe1atn.victor.reijs@...>:

Hello Roger,

I try to have zero extension after the calibration planes (at least for
30MHz). So I use SMA connectors with open, closed, load (2-100ohm SMD in
parallel) and through pins, see:

I do of course all my (Excel) calculations in the complex environment.
And
I get the same results as the NanoVNA saver program for all values. I
plotted the |Z|, as It provides enough detail (certainly when having 10%
deviation;-).
For my S21 evaluation; my DUTs are normal resistors soldered on centre of
female SMA connectors (I don't care if the leads are long, all is my DUT)
and for comparing I use low frequencies (to minimise stray effects).

I use a slightly extended formula:
ZDUT(s) = 2*(Zsource+Zload)*((1/S21)-1)
Zload is the one measured with through connection to port 2 (S11
reflection).
Zsource can be manually varied in Excel for the evaluation (default
50ohms,
but can be any complex number).
Besie this, I also have Zo which is the reference of pure 50ohm (used in
the calucations/definitions). My Zo calibration load is 49.7ohm using
DVM.

[image: afbeelding.png]

I need to measure impedances larger than 3 or 4kohm. as I am looking at
choking devices and I hope they have impedances above 5 or more kohm. And
frequencies upto the end of the HF bands (30MHz).
If I look at my DVM comparison with 1port S11 (reflection) results; even
21kohm provides ok-ish results (within 2%, which is good enough for me).

But I still want to understand why my 2port S21 Zduts are off some 9%.

When doing the 2port measurements, I get (as expected) similar impedance
values for impedance measuring Series S11 (minus Zload) and 1 port S11
reflection measurement. So this (S11) part of the 2port measurements can
be
mapped nicely on the 1 port measurements.

Op di 7 jun. 2022 om 01:09 schreef Roger Need via groups.io
<sailtamarack=
[email protected]>:

Next I attached the cable to Port2 (CH1) and measured the complex
impedance R +/-jX fro 10 kHz to 250 MHz. The attached plots show that
there is a considerable change in resistance over this range and an
unwanted capacitive reactance.

So in my case the difference is (using the through connector of my
calibration kit and from 330kHz to 30MHz).
[image: afbeelding.png]

My results are comparable to your 6dB attenuator results (I though have
this dip near low freqeuncies, I don't see this in a 50ohm calibration
load, so this is soemthing of my port2, I think...).

What I have not tested is how the impedance of Port1 (Ch0) varies with
frequency. This is not as easy a measurement and I have not done it.
The
attenuator "trick" could be used here as well but needs further
investigation.
Owen Duffy mentions a method (). I
also
did not do it (I though variate in my Exel to see the results and see if
I
can map the NanoVNA measurmeent with the Excel).


What happens with the S21 series method is that as you increase the DUT
resistance you get more error in the S21 gain AND S21 phase. This
translates to larger differences in the expected complex impedance of
the
DUT.
But 9%!? I am not able to simulate this in my Excel spreadsheet (except
by
lowering Zload or Zsource to some 40ohm)... And would you not see the
same
type of error in S11? (while that one is ok-ish).


I believe there are many sources of error such as the following:
- Port1 and Port 2 impedance is not 50 +j0 as pointed out above
- Stray inductance and capacitance of the test jig have a considerable
effect on the magnitude and phase of the S21 measurement. I have tried
several different test jigs and keep trying to improve. The attached
photo
shows one I use but still needs work because the S11 reference plane
is
too far from the DUT and I get an unwanted phase shift
For now I keep the freqeuncies of interest (for me) low: upto 30MHz.


- To calculate S21 the NanoVNA needs to know the power level generated
on
Port 1. I have a hunch that this power level fluctuates as the Return
Loss
decreases due to a higher DUT impedance.
Something like that must indeed happen.
The behavoir looks to be similar if the Zload is paralleled (so on port2
side) with an impedance (at least that is what I can see/simulate in my
Exel spreadsheet). But I don't think the port2 impedance does not change
much due to Zdut (I really hope!).
I tried to simulate volttage change of port 1 by varying Zsource (so a
change on port1 side): I can get a Zdut(2pseriesS21) equal to
Zdut(2pseriesS11) when Zsource=40ohms.
But the Zrefl (using 1 port S11 measurement) also will be changed due to
this change in Zsource. While that one was measured ok-ish...
So it is something, IMHO, on the port2 side...

I tried a 10dB at port2 to see the effects on Zdut. After recalibration I
get thee for 2port measurements:
[image: afbeelding.png]

The right bottom graphs compares Zdut with 10dB (red/darkblue) and
without
10dB (orange/light blue). No significant change, so still this 9% error
compared to Zdut using S11 reflection measurement...

For more discussion on this topic here are some old post links...
/g/nanovna-users/topic/67738316#7993

/g/nanovna-users/topic/hardware_deficiencies_when/80639862?p=

With care it is possible to get S21 results that compare well with S11
measurements. Here is a post I made earlier on the subject.
/g/nanovna-users/message/24390. But I just use S11
method most of the time for ease of use.
Will digest these links.

Thanks.

All the best,


Victor










Re: Nanovnasaver plots

 

Hello ROger,

I check again and if I use a Zsource of around 43ohm and a Zload as
measured using the S11reflect of port2.
Using that Zsource gives me more or less comparable graphs for the
differently derived Zdut's.
[image: afbeelding.png]
From (Fig. 10)
2 port series-through:
Z2pseries(S11)=(Zsource+Zload)*S11/(1-S11) (red)
Z2pseries(S21)=(Zource+Zload)*(1-S21)/S21 (green)
Z2pseriesrefl(S11)=Zo*(1+S11)/(1-S11)-Zload (blue)
1port reflection:
Z1prefl(S11)= Zo*(1+S11)/(1-S11) (orange)


[image: afbeelding.png]
So I really will need to determine Zsource for my NanoVNA. Will work on
that now.

All the ebay,

Victor


Op di 7 jun. 2022 om 12:27 schreef Victor Reijs via groups.io
<pe1atn.victor.reijs@...>:

Hello Roger,

I try to have zero extension after the calibration planes (at least for
30MHz). So I use SMA connectors with open, closed, load (2-100ohm SMD in
parallel) and through pins, see:

I do of course all my (Excel) calculations in the complex environment. And
I get the same results as the NanoVNA saver program for all values. I
plotted the |Z|, as It provides enough detail (certainly when having 10%
deviation;-).
For my S21 evaluation; my DUTs are normal resistors soldered on centre of
female SMA connectors (I don't care if the leads are long, all is my DUT)
and for comparing I use low frequencies (to minimise stray effects).

I use a slightly extended formula:
ZDUT(s) = 2*(Zsource+Zload)*((1/S21)-1)
Zload is the one measured with through connection to port 2 (S11
reflection).
Zsource can be manually varied in Excel for the evaluation (default 50ohms,
but can be any complex number).
Besie this, I also have Zo which is the reference of pure 50ohm (used in
the calucations/definitions). My Zo calibration load is 49.7ohm using DVM.

[image: afbeelding.png]

I need to measure impedances larger than 3 or 4kohm. as I am looking at
choking devices and I hope they have impedances above 5 or more kohm. And
frequencies upto the end of the HF bands (30MHz).
If I look at my DVM comparison with 1port S11 (reflection) results; even
21kohm provides ok-ish results (within 2%, which is good enough for me).

But I still want to understand why my 2port S21 Zduts are off some 9%.

When doing the 2port measurements, I get (as expected) similar impedance
values for impedance measuring Series S11 (minus Zload) and 1 port S11
reflection measurement. So this (S11) part of the 2port measurements can be
mapped nicely on the 1 port measurements.

Op di 7 jun. 2022 om 01:09 schreef Roger Need via groups.io <sailtamarack=
[email protected]>:

Next I attached the cable to Port2 (CH1) and measured the complex
impedance R +/-jX fro 10 kHz to 250 MHz. The attached plots show that
there is a considerable change in resistance over this range and an
unwanted capacitive reactance.

So in my case the difference is (using the through connector of my
calibration kit and from 330kHz to 30MHz).
[image: afbeelding.png]

My results are comparable to your 6dB attenuator results (I though have
this dip near low freqeuncies, I don't see this in a 50ohm calibration
load, so this is soemthing of my port2, I think...).

What I have not tested is how the impedance of Port1 (Ch0) varies with
frequency. This is not as easy a measurement and I have not done it.
The
attenuator "trick" could be used here as well but needs further
investigation.
Owen Duffy mentions a method (). I also
did not do it (I though variate in my Exel to see the results and see if I
can map the NanoVNA measurmeent with the Excel).


What happens with the S21 series method is that as you increase the DUT
resistance you get more error in the S21 gain AND S21 phase. This
translates to larger differences in the expected complex impedance of the
DUT.
But 9%!? I am not able to simulate this in my Excel spreadsheet (except by
lowering Zload or Zsource to some 40ohm)... And would you not see the same
type of error in S11? (while that one is ok-ish).


I believe there are many sources of error such as the following:
- Port1 and Port 2 impedance is not 50 +j0 as pointed out above
- Stray inductance and capacitance of the test jig have a considerable
effect on the magnitude and phase of the S21 measurement. I have tried
several different test jigs and keep trying to improve. The attached
photo
shows one I use but still needs work because the S11 reference plane is
too far from the DUT and I get an unwanted phase shift
For now I keep the freqeuncies of interest (for me) low: upto 30MHz.


- To calculate S21 the NanoVNA needs to know the power level generated on
Port 1. I have a hunch that this power level fluctuates as the Return
Loss
decreases due to a higher DUT impedance.
Something like that must indeed happen.
The behavoir looks to be similar if the Zload is paralleled (so on port2
side) with an impedance (at least that is what I can see/simulate in my
Exel spreadsheet). But I don't think the port2 impedance does not change
much due to Zdut (I really hope!).
I tried to simulate volttage change of port 1 by varying Zsource (so a
change on port1 side): I can get a Zdut(2pseriesS21) equal to
Zdut(2pseriesS11) when Zsource=40ohms.
But the Zrefl (using 1 port S11 measurement) also will be changed due to
this change in Zsource. While that one was measured ok-ish...
So it is something, IMHO, on the port2 side...

I tried a 10dB at port2 to see the effects on Zdut. After recalibration I
get thee for 2port measurements:
[image: afbeelding.png]

The right bottom graphs compares Zdut with 10dB (red/darkblue) and without
10dB (orange/light blue). No significant change, so still this 9% error
compared to Zdut using S11 reflection measurement...

For more discussion on this topic here are some old post links...
/g/nanovna-users/topic/67738316#7993

/g/nanovna-users/topic/hardware_deficiencies_when/80639862?p=

With care it is possible to get S21 results that compare well with S11
measurements. Here is a post I made earlier on the subject.
/g/nanovna-users/message/24390. But I just use S11
method most of the time for ease of use.
Will digest these links.

Thanks.

All the best,


Victor






Re: NanoVNA - Signal Generator

 

On 6/7/22 5:25 AM, Rich NE1EE wrote:
On 2022-06-07 00:07:-0700, you wrote:

FYI - I made an output voltage measurement based on the "Px" settings (on my H4, fw v1.2 from the release .dfu file, o'scope w/ 50ohm input, CW=10MHz, square wave:
The CW frequency was -520Hz off at 300MHz here, so I had to adjust the 26MHz reference frequency a little bit..
Thanks for posting those. I guess that Auto would somehow adjust the current based on reflected (or thru) values to try to keep the reflected (or thru) values in some range?

520 Hz in 300 MHz seems like a lot...are they all that far off? I should see if I can check mine. That would definitely have an impact on using it for a signal generator.
that's a bit less than 2 ppm. That's pretty good for an inexpensive TCXO.? If you want to hack, you might be able to put a voltage on the trim input, but that could actually make things worse. You're probably better off just programming it for a frequency that is 520 Hz different.


Re: NanoVNA - Signal Generator

 

On 2022-06-07 00:07:-0700, you wrote:

FYI - I made an output voltage measurement based on the "Px" settings (on my H4, fw v1.2 from the release .dfu file, o'scope w/ 50ohm input, CW=10MHz, square wave:
The CW frequency was -520Hz off at 300MHz here, so I had to adjust the 26MHz reference frequency a little bit..
Thanks for posting those. I guess that Auto would somehow adjust the current based on reflected (or thru) values to try to keep the reflected (or thru) values in some range?

520 Hz in 300 MHz seems like a lot...are they all that far off? I should see if I can check mine. That would definitely have an impact on using it for a signal generator.


Re: NanoVNA - Signal Generator

 

FYI - I made an output voltage measurement based on the "Px" settings (on my H4, fw v1.2 from the release .dfu file, o'scope w/ 50ohm input, CW=10MHz, square wave:

Pauto 160mV
P2mA 160mV
P4mA 320mV
P6mA 480mV
P8mA 600mV

The CW frequency was -520Hz off at 300MHz here, so I had to adjust the 26MHz reference frequency a little bit..


Re: NanoVNA-H "Fail Write" to 16GB SD card #nanovna-h

 

On 2022-06-06 18:14:-0700, you wrote:
It is recommended in the NanoVNA beta group that you power off to install or remove SD cards. IIRC some cards have been permanently damaged by "hot swapping".

Roger
Thanks for the tip.