New to VNAs, I picked up a NanoVNA after a fellow ham showed one around at a hamfest. (I think I got "lucky" and got a good one.) I've been following my nose, learning as I go, and studying various technical VNA web sites. I came to wonder why all the NanoVNAs that I see advertised come with at /most/ one short, one open, one load test fixture. It seems to me that we /need/ 2 of each to do a decent cal...or is what we are doing actually a valid, but "incomplete" cal...we have actually only calibrated Port 1 (Ch0), and I am not sure about the implications of that. There are no instructions with my device, so I have been reading docs and messages here.
One of the issues that I see as hams do various "tests" and "demos" is that those activities seem to be not well understood by those executing them or those reading|observing them. Because those activities are presented with a modicum of authority, they are repeated around the ham community, leading to confusion (I observe).
I intend to keep pointing folks to these pages...we need a central place where vetted information can be presented.
One of my questions is this: if I cal with only one set of short and load fixtures, then is the through valid? And does it really matter at frequencies below, say 600 MHz? Most of the stuff that I do as a ham does not seem to need super precision. OTOH, I want to use this device in the best way possible, just as I do all my gear, including test gear. I've ordered a 2nd NanoVNA from hugen (or so I hope), and it will come with a 2nd set of cal fixtures.
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On the banks of the Piscataqua
Rich NE1EE
Rich NE1EE