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Hi all, Ive had my H4 a month now and love it. Im not new to VNA's as use a Agilent one at work occasionally.
I still cant believe how so much is packed into a small box for such a brilliant price. Well done to all developers.
My question is , Would it be beneficial to upgrade the firmware? , Plan is to use it with Joel smiths solver software if i can. (would love to see his Labview worksheets, but understand his time and effort into it) labview can be difficult at times, although im used to doing stuff with HPIB with it.
My H4 is as follows :-
version 1.1.01
HW version 4.3 MS
Thanks for letting me join this group, i look forward to any replies and if i can help others i surely will.
Regards Pete
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That is a reasonably recent firmware version - it should work fine for your intended use case. There are a few added features in the latest release version of firmware from DiSlord (ver 1.2.00) - mostly for direct use of the device without a computer, so these may not be of great interest to you. Stan On Fri, Sep 30, 2022 at 11:28 AM Pete Harrison <rockfisher@...> wrote: Hi all, Ive had my H4 a month now and love it. Im not new to VNA's as use
a Agilent one at work occasionally.
I still cant believe how so much is packed into a small box for such a
brilliant price. Well done to all developers.
My question is , Would it be beneficial to upgrade the firmware? , Plan is
to use it with Joel smiths solver software if i can. (would love to see his
Labview worksheets, but understand his time and effort into it) labview can
be difficult at times, although im used to doing stuff with HPIB with it.
My H4 is as follows :-
version 1.1.01
HW version 4.3 MS
Thanks for letting me join this group, i look forward to any replies and
if i can help others i surely will.
Regards Pete
|
You can always revert back to old firmware if the new one is not to your liking.
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On Fri, 30 Sept 2022 at 20:28, Pete Harrison <rockfisher@...> wrote:
Hi all, Ive had my H4 a month now and love it. Im not new to VNA's as use a Agilent one at work occasionally.
I still cant believe how so much is packed into a small box for such a brilliant price. Well done to all developers.
My question is , Would it be beneficial to upgrade the firmware? , Plan is to use it with Joel smiths solver software if i can. (would love to see his Labview worksheets, but understand his time and effort into it) labview can be difficult at times, although im used to doing stuff with HPIB with it.
My H4 is as follows :-
version 1.1.01
HW version 4.3 MS
Thanks for letting me join this group, i look forward to any replies and if i can help others i surely will.
Regards Pete
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Greetings,
Also relatively new to H4 and this group. Where does one locate firmware, release notes and upgrade/downgrade instruction?
Thanks,
Bryan
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Best is to carefully read the "Absolute Beginners Guide to the NanoVNA"
which can be found in the files area of this group.
Some older firmware update files are also uploaded in the files section,
but for the most recent ones, go to the Dislord or hugen github
repositories - you can find links to them in the firmware topic of this
group's wiki. The wiki has lots of good info.
StN
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On Sat, Oct 1, 2022, 7:29 AM Bryan Curl <bc3910@...> wrote: Greetings,
Also relatively new to H4 and this group. Where does one locate firmware,
release notes and upgrade/downgrade instruction?
Thanks,
Bryan
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Hello, I use Nano Solver with Lite64 end Nanovna V2 with PC. I find very useful John Smith software, however the work of Dislord FW is great to use standalone. *Sent:* Friday, September 30, 2022 at 7:43 PM *From:* "Stan Dye" <standye@...> *To:* [email protected]*Subject:* Re: [nanovna-users] New member with a NanoVna H4 That is a reasonably recent firmware version - it should work fine for your intended use case. There are a few added features in the latest release version of firmware from DiSlord (ver 1.2.00) - mostly for direct use of the device without a computer, so these may not be of great interest to you. Stan On Fri, Sep 30, 2022 at 11:28 AM Pete Harrison <rockfisher@...> wrote: Hi all, Ive had my H4 a month now and love it. Im not new to VNA's as use
a Agilent one at work occasionally.
I still cant believe how so much is packed into a small box for such a
brilliant price. Well done to all developers.
My question is , Would it be beneficial to upgrade the firmware? , Plan is
to use it with Joel smiths solver software if i can. (would love to see his
Labview worksheets, but understand his time and effort into it) labview can
be difficult at times, although im used to doing stuff with HPIB with it.
My H4 is as follows :-
version 1.1.01
HW version 4.3 MS
Thanks for letting me join this group, i look forward to any replies and
if i can help others i surely will.
Regards Pete
|
Many thanks to everyone for replies.
Im still playing about with the device, and very impressed. Just wish i could could Mr J Smiths software to work, although i believe hes stopped development and the version available seems to be for the vnalite.
Has anyone managed to get the Nanovna solver 64 to work on a nanovna H4?
Yes the other available software seems good, but i like the look of the features of Mr Smiths Solver.
regards Pete
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Both articles well done. Thanks. I have had some good success matching antenna impedance using the smith chart but using a chunk of coax for a shunt inductor eludes me. Could that possibly be the shorted tuning stub as apposed to the open ended one?
Anyway, Stan, thanks for the lead to great articles.
Regards,
Bryan
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Both will work, of course, different lengths at a given frequency for the same inductance or capacitance at the user's end
Lester B Veenstra K1YCM M?YCM W8YCM 6Y6Y
lester@...
452 Stable Ln (HC84 RFD USPS Mail)
Keyser WV 26726
GPS: 39.336826 N 78.982287 W (Google)
GPS: 39.33682 N 78.9823741 W (GPSDO)
Telephones:
Home: +1-304-289-6057
US cell +1-304-790-9192
Jamaica cell: +1-876-456-8898
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-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto: [email protected]] On Behalf Of Bryan Curl Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2022 7:36 AM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] New member with a NanoVna H4 Both articles well done. Thanks. I have had some good success matching antenna impedance using the smith chart but using a chunk of coax for a shunt inductor eludes me. Could that possibly be the shorted tuning stub as apposed to the open ended one? Anyway, Stan, thanks for the lead to great articles. Regards, Bryan
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On 10/4/22 4:35 AM, Bryan Curl wrote: Both articles well done. Thanks. I have had some good success matching antenna impedance using the smith chart but using a chunk of coax for a shunt inductor eludes me. Could that possibly be the shorted tuning stub as apposed to the open ended one? Yes, you can make inductance or capacitance with a shorted or open stub, with some limitations.
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Lester,
Sorry to scope creep on the thread but this is interesting.
so you are saying that a parallel tuning stub could be open or shorted and depending on the length to termination, could be seen by the network as an inductance or capacitance?
Bryan.
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Yes keeping in mind the termination need to be a short or open.
Then as a function of length and frequency any +/- imaginary value (C or L) can be presented at the other end.
Lester B Veenstra K1YCM M?YCM W8YCM 6Y6Y
lester@...
452 Stable Ln (HC84 RFD USPS Mail)
Keyser WV 26726
GPS: 39.336826 N 78.982287 W (Google)
GPS: 39.33682 N 78.9823741 W (GPSDO)
Telephones:
Home: +1-304-289-6057
US cell +1-304-790-9192
Jamaica cell: +1-876-456-8898
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-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto: [email protected]] On Behalf Of Bryan Curl Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2022 1:52 PM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [nanovna-users] New member with a NanoVna H4 Lester, Sorry to scope creep on the thread but this is interesting. so you are saying that a parallel tuning stub could be open or shorted and depending on the length to termination, could be seen by the network as an inductance or capacitance? Bryan.
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On 10/4/22 11:00 AM, Lester Veenstra via groups.io wrote: Yes keeping in mind the termination need to be a short or open.
Then as a function of length and frequency any +/- imaginary value (C or L) can be presented at the other end.
Not *any* - for a given length, you get a circle/spiral on the Smith chart of values Impedance transformations If a load of complex impedance Zload is connected to the end of a transmission line of characteristic impedance Z0 (which may be complex), the impedance at the other end of the line is Zin, calculated by the following equation: Zin = Z0 * (Zload*cosh(gamma) + Z0*sinh(gamma))/ (Zload*sinh(gamma)+Z0*cosh(gamma)) gamma is the complex propagation constant. gamma = alpha + j beta where: alpha is attenuation in nepers (1 neper = 8.688 dB) beta is length in radians Some cases of interest are where alpha=0 (i.e. a lossless line) in which case the hyperbolic functions turn into their trig equivalents, and where beta is pi/2 or pi. If beta = pi/2 (a half wavelength line), then cosh(gamma) = -1 and sinh(gamma) = 0, so you get: Zin = Zload If beta = pi/4 ( a quarter wavelength line), then cosh(gamma) = 0 and sinh(gamma) = 1, so you get: Zin = Z0 * Z0/Zload or, written another way: Zin * Zload = Z0*Z0 This is the basis of the popular 1/4 wave impedance transformers... To transform Zin to Zload, you need only construct a quarter wave line with impedance = sqrt(Zin*Zload)
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Thanks, Jim! How quickly we forget!
Your email is now stored on the HD, printed, and destined to go into my
notebook of indispensable kernels of knowledge.
Dave - W?LEV
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On Tue, Oct 4, 2022 at 6:55 PM Jim Lux <jimlux@...> wrote: On 10/4/22 11:00 AM, Lester Veenstra via groups.io wrote:
Yes keeping in mind the termination need to be a short or open.
Then as a function of length and frequency any +/- imaginary value (C or L) can be presented at the other end.
Not *any* - for a given length, you get a circle/spiral on the Smith
chart of values
Impedance transformations
If a load of complex impedance Zload is connected to the end of a
transmission line of characteristic impedance Z0 (which may be complex),
the impedance at the other end of the line is Zin, calculated by the
following equation:
Zin = Z0 * (Zload*cosh(gamma) + Z0*sinh(gamma))/
(Zload*sinh(gamma)+Z0*cosh(gamma))
gamma is the complex propagation constant. gamma = alpha + j beta where:
alpha is attenuation in nepers (1 neper = 8.688 dB)
beta is length in radians
Some cases of interest are where alpha=0 (i.e. a lossless line) in which
case the hyperbolic functions turn into their trig equivalents, and
where beta is pi/2 or pi.
If beta = pi/2 (a half wavelength line), then cosh(gamma) = -1 and
sinh(gamma) = 0, so you get:
Zin = Zload
If beta = pi/4 ( a quarter wavelength line), then cosh(gamma) = 0 and
sinh(gamma) = 1, so you get:
Zin = Z0 * Z0/Zload
or, written another way:
Zin * Zload = Z0*Z0
This is the basis of the popular 1/4 wave impedance transformers... To
transform Zin to Zload, you need only construct a quarter wave line with
impedance = sqrt(Zin*Zload)
-- *Dave - W?LEV* *Just Let Darwin Work*
--
Dave - W?LEV
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On Tue, Oct 4, 2022 at 02:00 PM, Lester Veenstra wrote:
Yes keeping in mind the termination need to be a short or open.
If the termination is lossy (other than 0 or ∞Ω) the result at the other end of the stub will be a lossy inductive or capacitive element. I learned this when using λ/4 stubs to bias microwave transistors; you need high-Q caps at the ground end of the stub; any losses there are transformed to losses at the device end. 73, Don N2VGU
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On Tue, Oct 4, 2022 at 02:55 PM, Jim Lux wrote:
for a given length, you get a circle/spiral on the Smith chart of values
Assuming a lossless transmission line stub, the Smith Chart trace will move along the outer edge of the chart as the frequency/electrical length changes; losses bring it spiraling in from the edge. 73, Don N2VGU
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Anything other than 50Ohm j0=0 is a loss.? So trotting along the 50Ohm line is also lossy.Total impedance involves both the real and imaginary parameters.
Mike W9MDB
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On Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at 03:34:47 PM CDT, Donald S Brant Jr <dsbrantjr@...> wrote: On Tue, Oct? 4, 2022 at 02:55 PM, Jim Lux wrote:
for a given length, you get a circle/spiral on the Smith chart of values
Assuming a lossless transmission line stub, the Smith Chart trace will move along the outer edge of the chart as the frequency/electrical length changes; losses bring it spiraling in from the edge.? 73, Don N2VGU
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Thanks for all the good info. I apologize for getting off topic. So getting back to firmware...
I've learned over the years not to toy with flashing firmware unless there is a problem that absolutely must be addresses or a feature one cannot live without.
Since I mainly use the NanoVNA for tuning antennas and feedlines, and I use it stand alone with no PC, will the newest firmware add any features that will make this process easier?
Bryan
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That latest firmware from DisLord , V1.2.00 adds the following :-
additional 4 admittance marker format and Admittance background
G + jB
G + L/C
Rp + jXp
Rp + L/C
? Add text keyboards for input filenames (max 8 chars on H and 18 on H4)
? Progress bar on screenshots
? Remote Desktop (work in NanoVNA-App, translate screen to CPU)
? Add flip display option
? More stable work on harmonics
? Speedup and reduce code in math/fft operations
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Francesco
Donald S Brant Jr