The NanoVNA provides alot of value in a tiny size. It has features that go beyond what we need most of the time with amateur radio, so there is a bit more complexity to the unit. With that said, if you have a bit of patiences you can learn how to use this for your antenna building.
Thanks for the great and interesting video (I’ve subscribe to your channel ). I just bought one, the NanoVNA-H version which comes with a case and TDR functionality for about $68 including taxes (8.25% here in Texas). Link to the NanoVNA- Version (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08132DJLS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Josh, A very informative video introduction to the NanoVNA, thank you. When buying, look for screened input circuitry, fitted battery and short, open plus 50 ohm calibration pieces supplied. Connecting a PC running free NanoVnaSaver software adds lots of functionality. https://github.com/mihtjel/nanovna-saver Support group at https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/topics 73, Bob GM4CID
Yes, it measures both amplitude and phase and measures both S11 and S21 so it really is a two port VNA.
I bought the F version with the larger screen, metal box, cables and cal kit. I like it and I’m glad I got the larger screen. I’m posting my experiences with it in the General Tech forum.
I really like my NanoVNAs including the larger F version I received recently. But I still expect to get plenty of use out of my antenna analyzers as they're a lot easier to use in the field for many antenna adjustment and measurement tasks. They have the right connectors for use with most of my ham antennas, they don't need calibration before a measurement session, they're much easier to read with large text and analog meters and in the case of my MFJ analyzer it's much quicker to do fast frequency sweeps with the twist of a knob than it is to program in start and stop frequencies with the NanoVNAs. Sure there are many great things about these NanoVNAs and if you don't already have an antenna analyzer it can be a great way to go but IMO they're not nearly as convenient for field use and things like tower top work as a dedicated antenna analyzer.
I thought so too, but often it is easiest enough to just grab the easy to use MFJ or RigExpert to get a quick reading. The F version looks like a winner too.
Read my post in the General Tech forum. There are a few differences with the F that may or may not be important to you.
Does it give the sign of the imaginary impedance? A very no-cry-if-broken price point that makes it moderately attractive to many, I'm sure - especially if the calibration caps are accurate; bought separately from the major outlets, they might well amount to half the purchase price of the analyser! http://nanovna.com/
Yes. It’s a vector analyzer. Although strangely for the smith chart format it gives the real part in ohms and the imaginary part in capacitance or inductance. The other models do the same thing according to groups.io posts I’ve read.
Very cool little box and isn't it amazing what you get for your money these days! For antenna analysis, my little Xiegu G90 does a pretty nice SWR/Freq plot, which is darned handy for Field Day. Seems to be dead on, too.
