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Just recieved a nanoVNA today.
Can someone tell me or point me to online sources about , without fancy mathematical technical terms :
How to start , I heard, I need to calibrate ? How ?
How to check antenna impedance, in ohms please, no smiths charts stuff , just ohms !
How to check capacitors and inductor values .
How to check the input /output impedance of test equipment
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All answers and links to manuals are in the wiki, see the links below.
You'll learn a lot in a short time, faster than letting people type it out again :-)
Then again, if you are not familiar with the language involved, you better visit study that first. It is nice to know what you actually want to measure and how to measure some basic stuff in the first place.
Personally I learned a lot reading the wiki and following a few weeks of meassages in this group.
73
Arie
Op 14-7-2022 om 11:03 schreef Observer:
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Just recieved a nanoVNA today.
Can someone tell me or point me to online sources about , without fancy mathematical technical terms :
How to start , I heard, I need to calibrate ? How ?
How to check antenna impedance, in ohms please, no smiths charts stuff , just ohms !
How to check capacitors and inductor values .
How to check the input /output impedance of test equipment
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On Thu, Jul 14, 2022 at 11:55 AM, Arie Kleingeld PA3A wrote:
It is nice to know what you actually want to measure and how to measure some
basic stuff in the first place.
Arie, you are 100% right. I.M.H.O it's the wrong way to buy something (although very nice) and try to find a problem to solve. The better path (again to my humble opinion) is when you encounter a problem, understand it, find a way to measure it, buy a NanoVNA and then solve it. Or when you want to develop/experiment, first learn the basic stuff. 73 Alex, PE1EVX
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Sorry, a VNA is not suited for you. You'll need to understand how it works and what calibration does. Otherwise you won't be able to trust your measurements. Cookbook recipes cover just a fraction of my VNA work. And do get a grip on Smith charts, you won't regret it. No need to be a math wizzard in order to grasp the basics.
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On July 14, 2022 11:03 AM Observer <tvstreamdevice@...> wrote:
Just recieved a nanoVNA today.
Can someone tell me or point me to online sources about , without fancy mathematical technical terms :
How to start , I heard, I need to calibrate ? How ?
How to check antenna impedance, in ohms please, no smiths charts stuff , just ohms !
How to check capacitors and inductor values .
How to check the input /output impedance of test equipment
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It seems many posters here are learning a lot and figuring things out they didn't know after having bought a nanoVNA. If it successfully motivates that, then perhaps buying one before you know much about it might be a good thing for some. They're cheap enough.
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That is absolutely true. But if you just reveived a nanoVNA and ask for help for the absolute basics and tell us you want "just ohms", that's not the right spirit in my opinion. Or maybe I'm becoming an old grumpy man...
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On July 14, 2022 2:31 PM Lou W7HV via groups.io <louandzip@...> wrote:
It seems many posters here are learning a lot and figuring things out they didn't know after having bought a nanoVNA. If it successfully motivates that, then perhaps buying one before you know much about it might be a good thing for some. They're cheap enough.
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OK what are you trying to do?
If you want to use it as an SWR meter you can:
- initially ignore ca;ibaration: it will have impact on the actual values,
but not the shape of the curve
- turn off curves other than SWR
and compare the results with your other SWR meters.
The calibration procedure can be found at:
-
It might be useful to get the test board:
-
and experiment with the different test options.
Good luck!
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Show quoted text
On Thu, Jul 14, 2022 at 5:03 AM Observer <tvstreamdevice@...> wrote: Just recieved a nanoVNA today.
Can someone tell me or point me to online sources about , without fancy
mathematical technical terms :
How to start , I heard, I need to calibrate ? How ?
How to check antenna impedance, in ohms please, no smiths charts stuff ,
just ohms !
How to check capacitors and inductor values .
How to check the input /output impedance of test equipment
--
73,
AB1PH
Don Rolph
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Yes, that's right. You are looking more and more like Walter Matthau every day. ? And I'm looking like Jack Lemmon more every day.... ________________________________ From: [email protected] < [email protected]> on behalf of Reinier Gerritsen <r.gerritsen@...> Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2022 1:06 PM To: [email protected] < [email protected]>; Lou W7HV via groups.io <louandzip@...> Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] nanoVNA for Nerds That is absolutely true. But if you just reveived a nanoVNA and ask for help for the absolute basics and tell us you want "just ohms", that's not the right spirit in my opinion. Or maybe I'm becoming an old grumpy man... On July 14, 2022 2:31 PM Lou W7HV via groups.io <louandzip@...> wrote:
It seems many posters here are learning a lot and figuring things out they didn't know after having bought a nanoVNA. If it successfully motivates that, then perhaps buying one before you know much about it might be a good thing for some. They're cheap enough.
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I can't tell, never saw "Grumpy old men" , but I'd name Waldorf and Statler.?
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On July 14, 2022 4:10 PM Chuck, KF0CT <chu_r@...> wrote:
Yes, that's right. You are looking more and more like Walter Matthau every day. ? And I'm looking like Jack Lemmon more every day....
________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Reinier Gerritsen <r.gerritsen@...>
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2022 1:06 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Lou W7HV via groups.io <louandzip@...>
Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] nanoVNA for Nerds
That is absolutely true. But if you just reveived a nanoVNA and ask for help for the absolute basics and tell us you want "just ohms", that's not the right spirit in my opinion. Or maybe I'm becoming an old grumpy man...
On July 14, 2022 2:31 PM Lou W7HV via groups.io <louandzip@...> wrote:
It seems many posters here are learning a lot and figuring things out they didn't know after having bought a nanoVNA. If it successfully motivates that, then perhaps buying one before you know much about it might be a good thing for some. They're cheap enough.
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? ________________________________ From: [email protected] < [email protected]> on behalf of Reinier Gerritsen <r.gerritsen@...> Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2022 2:38 PM To: [email protected] < [email protected]> Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] nanoVNA for Nerds I can't tell, never saw "Grumpy old men" , but I'd name Waldorf and Statler.? On July 14, 2022 4:10 PM Chuck, KF0CT <chu_r@...> wrote:
Yes, that's right. You are looking more and more like Walter Matthau every day. ? And I'm looking like Jack Lemmon more every day....
________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Reinier Gerritsen <r.gerritsen@...>
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2022 1:06 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Lou W7HV via groups.io <louandzip@...>
Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] nanoVNA for Nerds
That is absolutely true. But if you just reveived a nanoVNA and ask for help for the absolute basics and tell us you want "just ohms", that's not the right spirit in my opinion. Or maybe I'm becoming an old grumpy man...
On July 14, 2022 2:31 PM Lou W7HV via groups.io <louandzip@...> wrote:
It seems many posters here are learning a lot and figuring things out they didn't know after having bought a nanoVNA. If it successfully motivates that, then perhaps buying one before you know much about it might be a good thing for some. They're cheap enough.
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You will find a lot of useful videos on youtube... If you looked a few of them you at least know some basics
What is that damned smith for??
How to calibrate
What are all those traces mean
How to measure this or that
...
So i highly recommend to watch a few of those..
Greetz sigi dg9bfc
Am 14.07.2022 16:44 schrieb "Chuck, KF0CT" <chu_r@...>:
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?
________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of
Reinier Gerritsen <r.gerritsen@...>
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2022 2:38 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] nanoVNA for Nerds
I can't tell, never saw "Grumpy old men" , but I'd name Waldorf and
Statler.?
On July 14, 2022 4:10 PM Chuck, KF0CT <chu_r@...> wrote:
Yes, that's right.? You are looking more and more like Walter Matthau every day.??? ? And I'm looking like Jack Lemmon more every day....
________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of
Reinier Gerritsen <r.gerritsen@...>
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2022 1:06 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Lou W7HV via groups.io <louandzip@...>
Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] nanoVNA for Nerds
That is absolutely true. But if you just reveived a nanoVNA and ask for help for the absolute basics and tell us you want "just ohms", that's not
the right spirit in my opinion. Or maybe I'm becoming an old grumpy man...
On July 14, 2022 2:31 PM Lou W7HV via groups.io
<louandzip@...> wrote:
It seems many posters here are learning a lot and figuring things out
they didn't know after having bought a nanoVNA.? If it successfully
motivates that, then perhaps buying one before you know much about it
might be a good thing for some. They're cheap enough.
|
On Thu, Jul 14, 2022 at 06:10 AM, Don Rolph wrote:
OK what are you trying to do?
If you want to use it as an SWR meter you can:
- initially ignore ca;ibaration: it will have impact on the actual values,
but not the shape of the curve
- turn off curves other than SWR
and compare the results with your other SWR meters.
The calibration procedure can be found at:
-
It might be useful to get the test board:
-
and experiment with the different test options.
Good luck!
On Thu, Jul 14, 2022 at 5:03 AM Observer <tvstreamdevice@...> wrote:
Just recieved a nanoVNA today.
Can someone tell me or point me to online sources about , without fancy
mathematical technical terms :
How to start , I heard, I need to calibrate ? How ?
How to check antenna impedance, in ohms please, no smiths charts stuff ,
just ohms !
How to check capacitors and inductor values .
How to check the input /output impedance of test equipment
--
73,
AB1PH
Don Rolph
Be careful about suggesting using nanoVNA as an SWR Meter. Most SWR Meters are used between a transmitter and an antenna to show the SWR in the transmission line at an operating frequency. The nanoVNA is connected to a transmission line and antenna to show what the SWR will be when fed from a transmitter at various frequencies. It would lead to disaster if someone connected a nanoVNA between a transmitter and antenna. But we knew what you meant.
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Thank you all for comments and criticism.
I have always been a practical and experimenting man, sometimes, defying theory
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I have always been a practical and experimenting man, sometimes, defying theory If the "practice" is not in agreement with the "theory" it is that there is an error (a fault) in one or the other, to see in both. -- F1AMM Fran?ois -----Message d'origine----- De la part de Observer vendredi 15 juillet 2022 09:22
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¡°In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, while in practice there is ¡°
Benjamin Brewster
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On 15 Jul 2022, at 08:35, F1AMM <18471@...> wrote:
?
I have always been a practical and experimenting man, sometimes, defying theory
If the "practice" is not in agreement with the "theory" it is that there is an error (a fault) in one or the other, to see in both.
--
F1AMM Fran?ois
-----Message d'origine----- De la part de Observer
vendredi 15 juillet 2022 09:22
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Theory is always incomplete. It is said that the field of thermodynamics learned much more from the operations of steam locomotives than steam locomotives learned from thermodynamics. Often electrical building codes lag advances in electrical technology by decades. In my specialty of ship hull inspection there are always the ship design drawings and the "As Built" drawings. "We ran out of 10# plate so we used 12# plate until we could get more from the foundry."
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I bought my NanoVNA in large part to have a solution looking for a problem to solve. My main use for this device was the SWR sweep capability for my antennas, but I soon discovered previously unknown problems that now needed a VNA solution. How pleasantly convenient.
Having a real time Smith Chart display is absolutely invaluable for getting a good feel on impedance for one. More, I have some SDR receivers that can be overloaded by a 50KW AM broadcast station a few miles away. The solution was to build custom filters. My first one, using an online passive filter design tool, was a 500 KHz LPF. It's quite satisfying whipping up a design and then see it perform. I found that even using 10% tolerance parts and tiny axial inductors, I could still produce an effective filter. The VNA proved to me that specifying a cutoff frequency with a good gap to the required cutoff frequency meant I could get by without strict tolerances and hi-Q torroid inductors.
My latest filter design was for a 22nd order 3.5 - 30 MHz BPF. I never would have ever tried that without my NanoVNA. And it works, knocking down the BCB and giving an excellent, although not as deep [nor needed], upper cutoff. This exercise was just as much about learning how to build and test the filter as its actual use.
Testing 455 KHz IF filters made for another fun experience, especially since I had to compensate for the wildly different 2K Ohm I/O impedances.
Yes the NanoVNA for me was a solution looking for a problem to solve. Kinda like going to school and learning how to solve a problem and then look for a problem to solve, lab exercises so to speak, but with immediate real world applications. Chicken or egg? Which comes first is not important. Just pick one and work towards the other.
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Ho-Ro
Arie Kleingeld PA3A
Lou W7HV
Ken
Rob Rees
Douglas Butler