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Hi Eric;

Nice job with the extended range, plus the other added features. It mostly works OK, and as stated earlier; it interfaces nicely with NanoVNA Saver. Kudos to Rune also on his "beyond the call" value added effort.

There appears to be a bug in the calibration... at least in my case... While attempting to perform a 2-port 50 kHz to 30 MHz local cal (not via one of the Windows GUIs), The corrected S21 data plots consistently in excess of -6 dB after several cal attempts, and I'm unable to toggle the correction on and off. I've checked my cables, and this wasn't an issue with my original firmware install, so I'm pretty certain it's something in the firmware. I'm going to reflash the firmware tomorrow, but I don't suspect a bad install would do something wrong consistently and not eventually crash. :-)

Has anybody else been putting this extended range firmware through its paces and observed something similar?


--
72/73

Gary, N3GO

This thread discusses the thumbwheel switch.
/g/nanovna-users/topic/32796736
In post 869 of that thread, Hugen tells us where he buys the switch that the nanoVNA ships with
In post 1305 of that thread, Hugen recommends a better switch.

This thread discusses other options:
/g/nanovna-users/topic/34151142

And another:
/g/nanovna-users/topic/34166411

The thumbswitch is mechanically unreliable, mine often gets stuck.
One solution for this would be to drill out the front panel to take 3 button switches,
or fab a replacement using one of the many low cost board fab shops.
Drill a hole in the main nanoVNA board, run 3 wires plus ground from the thumbswitch
up to the three new button switches. No need to remove the old switch, the three pins
we are interested in are exposed.

I have a PCB with three button switches from some other gear,
may just glue the strip of three down to the top of the nanoVNA top panel.

But beyond the unreliable thumbwheel switch, we also have a software issue.
Seems the switches are polled, and if the ARM processor
is busy doing other stuff it may not see your switch action.
I'd think it should be interrupt driven, and simply bail out of processing the current crop
of data when the switch is pressed.

Jerry Gaffke, KE7ER

Hi Mark. The direct answer to your question is YES.

It was not my intention when I did this note to make it complicated. Instead, try to follow as close as possible a procedure that would squeeze the best performance from the unit. Isolation on the larger VNA units is one process that the user is given the option to OPT out. And usually you can get buy in doing just that and walk away with a noise floor that provides better than 80 dB below the 0 dB thru. Not quite the case with the nanoVNA, so best to take a route that minimizes excess cross talk between channels.

Termination of both ports minimizes radiation and signal pickup of the two channels. Not allowing the RF cables to cross minimizes this as well, since the cables provided with the unit are not double shielded. Coax can radiate dependent on the density of the shield and the method the connector is attached to the cable.

Hope this clarifies the note.

Alan

Mark K0NIA 8:48am #2536
Edited 8:48am
I've read and tried to follow the calibration instructions listed in the "Files" section of this group. When I get to "Note 13," to calibrate LOAD, it instructs me to use a second 50 ohm terminator and second F-F adapter, which were not included and I do not own.

In this case, should I just put the included load on CH0 (S11)?

Thanks, and 73--
Mark, K0NIA

I've had mine for just over a week now.

I'm hoping you downloaded "STSW_STM32080_V3.0.6.zip" and a DFU file. Unzip
and install this program; this is the program for pushing the firmware to
your device.

You will also need to prep your device for uploading the firmware by first,
turning it off. Look for the jumpers near where power from the battery
connects to the board. If you look at my photo "NanoVNA1.jpg" you will see
two contact points that need to be jumpered. Just because I had it laying
around I used two clips I use for a multimeter with little hooks on one end
and stackable banana plugs on the other. By plugging one banana plug into
the other, I've made a cable with two little hooks that I can grab onto the
little holes in the mainboard. You can see my wires in NanoVNA2.jpg and
them jumpering the connection in NanoVNA3.jpg.

Now, with the USB cable connected to your computer, turn it. Open up Device
Manager on Windows 10. Scroll down to Universal Serial Bus controllers and
look to see if you have "STM Device in DFU Mode"; I've highlighted it in
NanoVNA4.jpg. Once you have confirmed this, open up the program you
installed earlier, called DfuSeDemo. It should automatically detect it. See
NanoVNA5.jpg. In that image, as you should see on your own computer, it has
selected "STM Device in DFU Mode." Now, click on "Choose...", which will
bring up the file manager to find your .dfu file. Once selected, select the
"Upgrade" button. Now, turn off the device, un-jumper it, then you can turn
it back on. I would recalibrate it before going any further.

I have not had any issues changing the firmware. My original firmware was
from May 2019. I then upgraded it to August. I then decided to try out the
1500 Mhz firmware I saw here on this group. I have an ADSB base antenna
tuned for 1090 MHz, so I wanted to see what would happen. I set a center
point of 1090 MHz with a span of 20 MHz and 10100 data points. The Return
Loss display is a real scatter graph and the Smith Chart looks like a very
fuzzy snake coil. The range of the noise follows a general path, just not
very clear. I find that on all firmwares, the best resolution comes between
about 200 KHz to almost 300 MHz, then it it gets fuzzy.
_____________________________________
Ron Webb



On Tue, Sep 17, 2019 at 12:23 PM aa777888athotmaildotcom <
scott.traurig@...> wrote:

Hi all,

Just got my NanoVNA. It is supposedly the 900MHz version.

I downloaded all the files from this site:



Also found the Git repo here:



Questions:

1. Is there a way to determine the version of firmware currently loaded?
2. Is there a detailed, English language version of the "how to load
firmware" instructions, or only the semi-English version from the Google
Drive site?
3. Any common mistakes or pitfalls to watch out for when loading firmware
so I don't wind up with a brick?
4. What firmware version do people recommend? I have no need to measure
above 500MHz.

Thanks!

Erik where is the 1500 Mhz code?

Thx
Dana

Rune where can I find the 1500 mhz code?

Thx 73 Dana VE3DS

Seems I remember someone found a replacement for the selector switch for
the VNA. This is a major weak point. Is there a supplier for this switch?
Hal/WB4AEG

Hello,

Could you clarify for us, please, if is there any certain knowledge available regarding the specific error model(s) that NanoVNA uses ?

Sincerely,

yin&pez@arg

I've been using NanoVNA-Saver, written by Rune B. Broberg, a member of this
group. It is written in the Python programming language, so it is operating
system agnostic. The code is hosted at
. At that site, if you scroll down,
you will see instructions on installation. I don't want to insult
intellegence by going on a long instruction description if you can figure
it out on your own, but reach back out to the group if you have issues.
_____________________________________
Ron Webb

Questions:

1. Is there a way to determine the version of firmware currently loaded?

1. [CONFIG] -> [VERSION] (requires recent firmware)
2. "version" command on USB serial] (requires recent firmware)
3. "info" command on USB serial shows build time (available with all firmware)

2. Is there a detailed, English language version of the "how to load firmware"
instructions, or only the semi-English version from the Google Drive site?

(dfu-util is multiplatform tool)

3. Any common mistakes or pitfalls to watch out for when loading firmware so I
don't wind up with a brick?

STM32 has DFU updater written in independent memory called "system memory".
The system memory is not writable by user, so there is no worry with a brick. You can write firmware again and again.

4. What firmware version do people recommend? I have no need to measure above
500MHz.

latest one, absolutely.

Hello,

Thank you once more.

Sincerely,

yin&pez@arg

I see the site. which program do I download to install NANOVNA software for windows?

Anyone know of a source for the multi function menu switch?? Don't need
one now but bet I do....Hal/WB4AEG

I broke my switch and hugen sent me a link to purchase a new on. I purchased 10 because the shipping cost more than the 10 switches. A search for hugen posts should find the link.

Jim K.

qrp,dcc, Tks for the info. Totally understand and wish you Godspeed with your upgrades to the software.

hwalker, NanoVNA software mod with TDR measurements is still in development, I didn't shared it yet :)

There are some issues with TDR impedance calculations.Also it has a new live tracking line on the plot, so there is no need to point mouse to the line to see all values. But it works for usual XY plots and don't works for smith and polar plot, and needs to be fixed.

Hi all,

Just got my NanoVNA. It is supposedly the 900MHz version.

I downloaded all the files from this site:



Also found the Git repo here:



Questions:

1. Is there a way to determine the version of firmware currently loaded?
2. Is there a detailed, English language version of the "how to load firmware" instructions, or only the semi-English version from the Google Drive site?
3. Any common mistakes or pitfalls to watch out for when loading firmware so I don't wind up with a brick?
4. What firmware version do people recommend? I have no need to measure above 500MHz.

Thanks!

K6jca 's experiments and earlier analysis of the different types of couplers might be of interest to some people in this group.

No need to upload the files here. @edy555's firmware is automatically built on CircleCI and artifacts for each revision can be downloaded there directly:

Erik,
There was a discussion on one of the Russian user groups regarding the isolation calibration. The Goggle translation is below:

"The original calibration procedure said that for better calibration, the load should not only be connected to CH1, but also to CH0. That is, for good isolation you need to use two loads. But because there is only one load supplied with the kit, the best procedure is to connect it to CH1 And CH0 leave open.

As the saying goes, it's enough to just think - there's no point in plugging in a CH0 load to measure ch1 channel insulation. To measure the insulation of the CH1 channel, the Terminator is logically connected to the CH1 channel. However, given the dynamics of NanoVNA, this error will not have much impact on the results. When calibrating ISOLN with an open CH1, you'll just get a slightly bigger margin of error when measuring s21 due to the increased noise on CH1 at the time of ISOLN calibration. You may think that instead of eliminating the insulation error, you added an error instead.

Here's a quote from the original instructions:

Isolation calibration of CH 1 requires two loads of loads to connect CH 0 and CH 1,respectively, to obtain the best isolation, usually with only one set of calibration loads for port 0, and to connect the load calibrator to CH 1, CH 0 to remain open , and then press the ISOLN menu to calibrate.

In summary, calibrating the CH1 channel insulation for the best result requires connecting two loads to both CH0 and CH1 channels, usually with only one load for the CH0 port, connect this load to the port CH1, and leave the CH0 port open and press the ISOLN menu for calibration. "


My own opinion is that the order of the nanoVNA calibration menu is such that the 50 ohm load is still on ch0 when you get to the isolation step, so it may not be worth the added accuracy to move the load to CH1 unless you just want to be more precise. I have two 50 ohm loads so I actually use one each on CH0 and CH1 when performing an isolation calibration.