nanoVNA: Measuring the SWR of an Antenna (068b)

Рет қаралды 1,130

Electronics for the Inquisitive Experimenter

2 ай бұрын

In this video I will walk through the process of setting up your nanoVNA to measure the SWR of an existing antenna intended for use in the 7.0 to 7.3 MHz band.
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***** CAUTION *******
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Antennas build up STATIC!
*ALWAYS* SHORT AND GROUND your antenna to discharge static before connecting it to your nanoVNA or antenna analyzer. Failure to do so may result in the ruin of the nanoVNA or antenna analyzer.
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I step through this process one step at a time so you can follow along to make your own measurement on your own antenna.
** Yes I am aware that the mic gain was up a little too high and I got some flat topping. It is a work in progress. **
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=== PROMISED LINKS ===
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nanoVNA Official Site (so they claim)
nanorfe.com/nanovna-v2.html
nanoVNA Manual (with menu map)
nanorfe.com/nanovna-v2-user-m...
Purchase nanoVNA V2 Plus 4 at
www.tindie.com/stores/hcxqsgr...
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==== VIDEO LINKS =====
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VIDEO: VNA Foundations (first video in the series)
• VNA Introductions: Wha...
== THIS SERIES ==
VIDEO#1: nanoVNA: A Practical Menu Walk Through
• nanoVNA: A Practical M...
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Time Markers for Your Convenience
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00:05 Introductory Comments
01:24 Setting Up the Frequency Limits
02:41 Setting Up the Display
02:47 Turning On/Off Traces
03:45 Choosing Your Channel
04:08 Selecting the Measurement Type/Format
04:41 Preparing for Your Measurement
04:45 The Physical Side of Preparation: Cables and Adapters
07:51 Calibration
08:21 OPEN
08:36 SHORT
08:54 LOAD
09:25 Saving Calibration & Setup Data
10:20 Making the Measurement
10:46 Set Up Your Marker
11:30 Using the Marker
12:13 The Measurement Results
12:53 Final Comments and Toodle-Oots

Пікірлер: 25

@arnoldgrubbs2005 Ай бұрын

Great video! It helps to show a few of the things that are not obvious but are lurking in the settings, which makes using this device a lot nicer. And it always helps to know the reasoning behind some of the controls.

@eie_for_you Ай бұрын

Thanks! 🙂

@TheRetiredtech 2 ай бұрын

I love the Nano VNA. Good lesson

@eie_for_you Ай бұрын

Thank you! 🙂

@rtybn2012 Ай бұрын

Great video as usual.

@eie_for_you Ай бұрын

Thanks, man! 🙂

@ornithopterindia 2 ай бұрын

👍Thank you sir.

@eie_for_you Ай бұрын

You are welcome! 🙂

@W1RMD Ай бұрын

Great video. It also a good idea to quickly short out the antenna terminals before hooking them to the VNA to bleed off any static. I've heard about people damaging their VNA from that. Dipoles are static and lightening magnets due to the fact that they are an open circuit to dc. Discones and fiberglass antennas are also really bad. Take care and 73!

@eie_for_you Ай бұрын

I **KNEW** I was forgetting SOMETHING! 😕Something was just nagging at me the whole time I was putting this together ... and THIS was it! Thank you for telling me. I put a HUGE ***CAUTION*** in the description.🙂

@W1RMD Ай бұрын

@@eie_for_you Thanks! Also, I assume this is a 2.8 inch screen VNA you're using (like mine). Either way this video will be HUGE in me first using mine. I've got some female SMA to male BNC adapters, so if I can, I believe I'm going to "permanently" leave them in place. I also have female SMA to female BNC adapters to hook the calibration standards. I think surface mount resistors can be soldered inside on connectors to make cheap calibration standards, particularly at lower frequencies. 73!

@eie_for_you Ай бұрын

@@W1RMD I bought some male SMA to female SMA adapters which "live" on my nanoVNA. If I wear out the adapter, then I just replace it. This is a LOT better than wearing out the connectors on the VNA itself! Don't forget, when calibrating the nanoVNA, you need to do it as close to the place where you connect the thing to be tested as possible. If you are measuring impedance, then you would possibly apply a "port extension" (AKA: electrical delay" in the nanoVNA world). Failure to do all of this *will* lead to misleading readings. 🙂

@W1RMD Ай бұрын

@@eie_for_you Great! I heard you mention port extension before and in this video. Which video is best to watch how to do that? I have not seen all of your VNA videos yet.

@eie_for_you Ай бұрын

@@W1RMD Of the released videos ... there is this one on measuring impedance: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/htqZa6ij3MWvm5s.html I use the computer interface to do it in this one. On the other hand (she wore a glove ... LOL 😀), my most recent video on measuring the input impedance of a filter using a nanoVNA in "stand-alone" mode will be released to the public on May 15th. This followed by measuring the frequency response of the same filter two weeks later. Then the frequency response of an amplifier. 🙂