A guide to the NanoVNA

By

Christoph Schwärzler, OE1CGS

Maximilian Schwärzler, OE1SML

To Agnieszka,
a patient wife
and a loving mother.
 First Edition
Copyright 2020 © Christoph and Maximilian Schwärzler
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any

form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the
authors, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief
passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.
Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than
use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked
name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of
infringement of the respective owner's trademark.
The information in this book is distributed on an "as is" basis,
without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the
preparation of this work, neither the authors nor the publisher shall
have any liability to any person or entity concerning any loss or
damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the
information contained in this book.
 Contents
Why you should read this book
One: Hardware
Two: Firmware
Three: Calibration
Four: Software
Five: Use cases for the NanoVNA
Closing remarks
 Why you should read this book
So, you want to buy a NanoVNA. Maybe you just bought one and
realized that there is no manual in the box? Probably you are hearing
rumours about this cheap and tiny gadget and are wondering what
you could do with it.

In all these cases, this "how-to" guide provides answers and

assistance. It gives an overview of the currently available hard-, firm-
and software and it shows in a detailed and structured way, how to
start using this fascinating tool. There is also info about typical
applications for the NanoVNA and how to tackle them.

In fact, the NanoVNA is a very capable, precision measurement

device at a really low price. It can replace the occasional use of up to
three bulky instruments on your workbench and fits in the palm of
your hand. Use cases include measuring inductance, complex
antenna impedance, chokes, gain, and attenuation, align filters and
find defects in coax cables, to name just very few.

This book is written for the practitioner and you will not find a lot of
math inside. If you read this book, you are most probably a ham radio
hobbyist or even professionally enclined with high-frequency
electronics. Maybe studying EE or just best friend to a soldering iron.
This book is four you!

Chapter One explains the concept of a vector network analyzer

(VNA), gives info about the evolution of the NanoVNA and about
currently marketed hardware. For the potential buyer, it will be
interesting to read about differences in devices and how to buy.
Sometimes small modifications make sense and at the end of this
chapter, these are discussed in detail.

After having read through chapter Two about the firmware you will
know about the various charts and how to read them and be able to
control the NanoVNA as a standalone device. You will also learn how
you can upgrade the firmware.
 Before getting any reliable results, the NanoVNA needs to be
calibrated. Chapter Three shows why and how.

Although the NanoVNA can be used standalone, there are cases

when it is useful to connect it to a computer, tablet or smartphone.
Chapter Four gives an overview of the available software and their
respective features.

In the final chapter Five, we will show examples of common use

cases for the NanoVNA. This is hands-on and shall give the reader
guidance for the first experiments and food for thought for own work.

Technology is evolving fast, and so is the NanoVNA. This book

was finished in December 2019. It reflects the status of available
hard-, firm- and software at this time.
 One: Hardware
1. Vector Network Analyzer

This section deals with the fundamentals of vector network

analyzers and can be skipped safely by anybody familiar with the
concept.

As the name already implies, the NanoVNA is a vector network

analyzer. Such a device must not be confused with any type of
computer network tool but is a sophisticated piece of hardware for
measuring high-frequency behavior of electronic systems, e.g.
antennas, cables, inductors, filters, and attenuators to name just a
few. High frequency is a very general expression, too. Concerning the
NanoVNA, this starts somewhat short of one hundred thousand Hertz
and goes up to more than one Gigahertz. Some professional (and
significantly more expensive) VNAs are capable of measuring even
higher frequencies. By behavior, we mean physical parameters
related to electronics like complex resistance and phase shifting.

Two features distinguish a VNA from many other tools you

probably have used already. Number one, it measures amplitude and
phase thus providing complex numbers (hence the name vector) for
most of the measured parameters. Put differently: a VNA measures
real as well as imaginary parts of electrical features. Some readers
will be familiar with this concept because they already use vector
antenna analyzers to optimize their antennas. These give the
antenna impedance as Z = R+jX instead of |Z| only, like scalar
antenna analyzers do. Feature number two is the fact, that VNAs
have (at least) two high-frequency connectors or ports, in tech lingo.
Now, this is different from an antenna analyzer, so let us have a
closer look.

Radio waves are electromagnetic waves, just like visible light.

Accordingly and just for a moment, we will use optics to investigate
the measurement principle. The following figure shows an
experimental setup to measure an optical device such as a lens or a
plain piece of glass. This piece is generally called the device under
test or DUT. We will frequently use this abbreviation later on.

Fig. 1: Optical measurement

From the left side, light is shed upon the DUT. When this incident
light hits the DUT, part of it is reflected and part is transmitted
through. If the intensity of the incident light is known, and the
reflected as well as the transmitted intensity is measured, the DUT is
well characterized with regards to its optical features. The reflected
light tells a lot about the air/DUT interface and the transmitted light
about the translucence of the DUT.

The same holds true for radio frequencies. The following figure
shows a typical VNA setup.

Fig. 2: RF measurement

Now it gets clear, why a VNA needs two ports. Through one (the
left one in figure 2) the incident HF-signal is emitted towards the DUT
and at the same time, the reflected signal is measured. Through the
other port, the transmitted signal is measured. Both ports measure
amplitude as well as phase, see above.

This is exactly how the NanoVNA works. Port 1, marked “CH0” on

the NanoVNA acts as the output of the incident signal (hence it is
also marked “TX”) as well as measurement port for the reflected
signal and port 2, marked “CH1” (and “RX”) receives the portion of
the signal which went “through” the DUT.

To be precise, this is only half of the story. Looking at figures 1

and 2 it is clear, that the incident signal can also emit from the right
side instead from the left side. Now reflected would be on the right
side, too and transmitted on the left. The DUT would be inspected
from the other side. Only now, a complete characterization of the
DUT would be achievable. Many professional VNAs do perform this
two-way characterization. Still, it is possible to measure two-way with
the NanoVNA. Just measure twice, turning the DUT manually around
between. This is not 100% the same as a real two-way process but
gets very close. However, in most cases, a one-way measurement is
all you will need.

Finally, let's briefly talk about S-parameters (scatter parameters).

These are the mathematical representation of the reflection and
transmission characteristics of a DUT. S-parameters typically bear
two indices, and the convention is that the first index is the
measurement port and the second index the port where the incident
signal is provided.

S11 = Measured at port 1, incident from port 1 (i.e. Reflection)

S21 = Measured at port 2, incident from port 1 (i.e. Transmission)

Given that the NanoVNA only provides a signal at port 1 (CH0),

the two above are the only ones that you will encounter on this
device.

Professional VNAs often will also measure S22 (Reflection from

port 2 backward) and S12 (Transmission from port 2 back to port 1).
 A complete set of S-parameters will bear all relevant information
about the DUT in a mathematical form and can be processed by
specialized simulation software like SPICE or RF-Sim. Files
containing this information are created by the NanoVNA in connection
with software like NanoVNA Saver as we will see in chapter Four.

If you want to dig deeper into S-parameters we recommend

Application Note 95-1 “S-Parameter Techniques” by Hewlett-Packard.

2. History of the NanoVNA

The current design of the NanoVNA and the name was created
several years ago by a Japanese ham under the pseudonym
“edy555”. His first design ideas with a different DDS (frequency
generator) seem to date back to 2013, but the current design with a
significantly reduced parts count and based on the Si5351A was
published by him in 2016.

Edy555 himself references a German kit, the VNWA3 which was

based on the concept of using a cheap computer soundcard,
published by Tom Baier, DG8SAQ in the Mar/Apr 2007 issue of QEX
("A Low Budget Vector Network Analyzer for AF to UHF").

In the summer of 2016, edy555 announced to produce the

NanoVNA, which was apparently done afterwards, but the kits were
predominantly sold in Japan. Edy555 was also involved in the original
firmware and continues to support the firmware (see chapter Two).
He decided to open-source hardware and firmware to avoid bad
clones, which undoubtedly was key to future development and the
current popularity of the NanoVNA.

It was not until a Chinese ham, Gen Hu (pseudonym ''hugen'')

adapted the design slightly by changing the power supply and started
to mass market the NanoVNA, that the device created international
interest. In agreement with Edy555, hugen sells his product under the
name NanoVNA-H. Hugen also runs his version of the firmware.
 As of today, several companies started to sell the NanoVNA with
only minor design differences. We will talk about those in the next
section.

There is also a spin-off design with a larger 4'' screen, called the
NanoVNA-F. Running on a different microprocessor, the NanoVNA-F
also needs different firmware. This device is marketed and readily
available too, but comes with a significantly higher price tag of about
130 € (150 US$).

3. Hardware versions

All currently sold versions of the NanoVNA are based on edy555s

design concept with hugens modification. The following block
diagram shows the operating principle.

Fig. 3: Block diagram

 A Si5351A clock generator is controlled by the Cortex MCU and
provides the measurement frequency. It also generates a slightly (5
kHz) different mixing signal which is provided to all mixers. The
measurement signal goes directly to one of the three mixers
(SA602A), which after mixing with the mixing signal to the audio
band, produces the reference signal in the form of I and Q signals.
Those signals bear all the information about the amplitude and phase
needed for further processing. They are fed to one channel of the
soundcard chip AIC3204. The measurement signal also enters a
bridge, via which it is provided at port 1. At the same port, the
reflected signal from the DUT enters the bridge from the other
direction and is fed to another mixer. This one generates the reflected
I and Q signals, which enter the second soundcard channel. Finally,
the transmitted signal from the DUT enters via port 2 and is directly
fed to the third mixer. Now I and Q of the through signal are produced
and passed on to the third soundcard channel. The codec passes on
all three audio information (amplitude and phase) to the MCU, where
the firmware processes it and displays it on the 320 x 240 pixels
resistive touch screen. User interaction is entered via a special push
and lever switch or via the touch screen. The USB-C connector has
two functions. It powers the NanoVNA resp. charges the battery and
it passes on serial data to an external computer if needed. There is
also a dedicated battery management IC (IP5303) for up- and down-
conversion between 5V and battery voltage.

This setup allows direct measurements at frequencies up to 300

MHz. Due to a clever trick this range can be significantly extended.
For frequencies above 300 MHz, harmonics are used. Since the
Si5351A generates a square wave signal, there are harmonics
galore. However, the quality of the results diminishes at higher
frequencies. Early firmware allowed for scans up to 900 MHz, newer
versions go up to 1.5 GHz.

Main technical data:

PCB: 54 mm x 85.5 mm x 11 mm
 Frequency range: 50 kHz to 1.5 GHz
RF output:-13 dBm (typ.)
Frequency error: < 0.5 ppm
Measurement range: 70dB (50kHz-300MHz), 60dB
(300M-600MHz), 50dB (600M-900MHz)
Port SWR: < 1.1
Display: 2.8 inch TFT (320 x240)
Tracks: 4, marks: 4, saved settings: 4 or 5 (depending on
firmware)
USB interface: USB type-C communication mode: CDC
(serial)
Power: USB 5V, 120 mA or internal battery (if available)
Number of scanning points: 101

The detailed schematics are publicly available, but cannot be

reproduced meaningfully in this book. If you are interested in
electronics we highly recommend to download it, e.g. at
https://www.n1fd.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/NanoVNA-
Schematic.pdf

However, there are slight differences between the devices sold

online and the potential buyer should be aware of those before
ordering.

Enclosure

Most devices come without any protective enclosure, except two

pieces of PCB on top and at the bottom. The top one has an opening
for the screen. It bears the name and labels the two ports. The
bottom one is either blank or labels the two ports by ''TX'' and ''RX''.
Between those two PCBs and held together by four spacers, is the
main PCB with all the electronics as SMT with most of the parts
facing downwards and the screen upwards.
 Fig. 4: NanoVNA, white model

As we understand, the only version currently sold with a protective

enclosure is the one marketed by hugen himself and comes in a
black plastic case.
 Fig. 5: NanoVNA, black model (NanoVNA-H)

Battery and battery management

Some models are shipped without battery. Sellers typically argue

with transport restrictions for Li-ion technology. However, many other
devices include a battery. This makes the NanoVNA a field-
deployable device, and especially suitable for antenna
measurements. Models without battery typically also lack the diode
D2 but otherwise include everything needed for retrofitting the battery.
This can be done easily, as we show further down.

Shielding

Some NanoVNAs have shielded ports. There is one metal shield

covering CH0 and including the rear part of the SMA connector as
well as the associated mixers for power out and reflection. A second
shield is for CH1, again including the rear end of the connector and
the mixer for transmission.

Fig. 6: No shields / shields

 Other models employ no shielding. What seems to be a clear
disadvantage, in theory, is still under discussion in practice. We
compared our two models (one with and the other without shields)
and found no difference up to 900 MHz. However, there might be a
difference if the device is used in an HF-polluted environment.

Although it has been done by some users, soldering shields to the

PCB is not straightforward and if done wrongly can even worsen the
performance. Given the sketchy upside, we do not advise to perform
this retrofit.

There seems to be a standardized color-coding concerning

shields: Models in white come without and models in black with them.
Please do not count on that however and check in any case before
ordering.

Accessories

The NanoVNA needs proper calibration to show any meaningful

data. This is done by consecutively measuring with a short-, an open-
and a 50 Ω load as well as by connecting CH0 and CH1 with a
through connector (SOLT-calibration). Those three calibrators (figure
7) are thus frequently needed and if you do not happen to own these
already, you should order a model including those. It has been
reported, that all SOL calibrators currently shipped with any
NanoVNA model are of viable quality. There seem to be differences in
the quality of the through connector (SMA, female to female)
provided, but they are minor and hard to tell without professional
equipment. If you are not heading for highest precision or very high-
frequency measurements, you can safely ignore, otherwise buy a
connector from an established manufacturer, but be prepared to
spend a significant portion of the price of the NanoVNA just on that.
 Fig. 7: SOLT calibrators

Most probably, you will also need cables to connect the DUT.
These are short (0.2 to 0.3 m) coaxial cables with male SMA
connectors on both sides. Models on the market differ in including
those or not. If they are included, they are mostly of the RG 174 type,
which is perfectly fine for the lower end of the frequency range.
However, if you intend to measure at frequencies of 600 MHz and
above, you might want to consider using RG 316 cables, which must
be ordered separately and will cost a few dollars each. You will need
two of those.
 Fig. 8: RG 174 and RG 316 cables

For outdoor usage, especially on antennas, it might be preferable

to use different connectors, like BNC on the far side of the cables.
Keep in mind, that in this case, you will also need corresponding
SOLT-calibrators.

The NanoVNA can be linked to a computer, tablet or smartphone

via a USB-C connector. This allows the usage of dedicated software
(see chapter Four) and is imperative for models without battery to be
powered up. For doing so a cable USB-type-C to USB-type-A is
needed, and to our knowledge included with all models. Still, please
check before ordering or buy separately.

4. Buying hardware

As of December 2019, there are several sellers of hardware

around. They can all be traced back to some form of Chinese
production. Differences in the NanoVNA hardware normally are
minor, however, it is best to check thoroughly before ordering:

Does it have a USB-C connector? (a must)

Are SOLT-calibrators included? (a must, unless you
already own some)
Is a USB-C to USB-type-A data cable included (a must,
unless you already own a such a cable. Important: You will
need a date (=OTG) cable to connect the NanoVNA to a
computer, power only does not suffice)
Is a battery installed? (Very convenient, but can be
retrofitted if not included)
Are shields installed? (Split opinions on this, but very
hard to retrofit)
Does it come in an enclosure? (Very convenient, can be
retrofitted by printing an enclosure on a 3D-printer)
Other accessories included? (RG 174 or RG 136 cables,
USB-C to USB-C for connecting to a smartphone, stylus,
box)
Is the price tag acceptable?

As far as price is considered, this should be somewhere between

30 € and 55 € (34 US$ and 62 US$), depending on the configuration.
In many cases this includes shipping. Probably the best way to buy is
online. You will find offers on eBay, but also directly on Chinese
websites like AliExpress or Banggood.

We can not and do not want to give explicit buying

recommendations. However, one thought to take into consideration:
To our knowledge, the only major hardware developer of the
NanoVNA, who is currently involved in marketing the device is
hugen79. His store sells the NanoVNA-H at Alibaba.com.

We bought two very different devices, one a NanoVNA-H fully

configured with battery and shields, which came in a nice box full of
accessories and second a cheap “white” NanoVNA without anything
except SOL and USB-cable. Both do their job excellently.
 5. Hardware modifications

From the previous chapters, it is clear, that it might be worthwhile

to perform one or the other modification to a NanoVNA. It really
depends on which version was in your post box.

We will not talk about adding shields since this is demanding and
the possible improvement still under discussion (see the previous
chapter).

Retrofitting a battery

If your model came without battery however, you really should

consider adding one. This is actually very easy. There are two items,
which you will have to get hold of first: A LiPo battery 3.7 V with a
maximum thickness of 6 mm, so it will fit between PCBs. Such a
battery will probably store about 500 mAh and cost between one and
three €. This is where I ordered my battery. The other item is a simple
diode, like a 1N4148. Preferably an SMD-model of size 0805. This
directly fits on the PCB. Many other types will do as well, even a TTH
version can be bent and soldered.

Now open the bottom screws of the NanoVNA and remove the
bottom cover. You will have direct access to the solder side of the
PCB. If you put the SMA connectors to the right side, look at the
upper part on the left side. It will look like this:
 Fig. 9: Battery connector and D2 missing

There are empty solder pads next to the ''BAT'' and ''D2''
silkscreen. Close to the left battery pad, there is a ''+'' sign, this is
where the (red) lead to the positive side of the LiPo has to be
soldered to. The other pad is for the (black) negative lead. The diode
''D2'' connects the battery with the voltage sensing input of the MCU.
Therefore the voltage drop of the diode directly influences the battery
level as shown on the display. Standard firmware assumes a 0.7 V
drop, but there are firmware versions which allow for changing this
through serial port communication (see chapter Four). When
soldering the diode, it is important to ensure the right direction, which
is with the bar facing downwards. The following figure shows the PCB
after soldering:
 Fig. 10: Retrofitting a battery

We recommend securing the battery to the PCB with a strip of

two-sided adhesive tape. Now screw the bottom cover back in place
and switch the NanoVNA on. Not only should it run on battery now,
but you should also see a battery level indicator in the upper left
corner of the screen. A fully charged 500 mAh battery will give you
about 2.5 hours of mobile operation.

A word about caution: It has been noted that the battery

management IC IP5303 is capable of charging with more than 1 A,
which is way too much for 500 mAh LiPos. As most batteries include
some form of overcurrent protection (like the one we recommend
above), this should not bring trouble along. Nevertheless, if you want
to be on the safe side, avoid charging with a dedicated USB charger
and use computer USB 2.0 ports instead. Typically, these are limited
to a current of 500 mA.

Adding an enclosure

The open sandwich structure of many models is prone to

acquiring dirt. Furthermore, connections as well as controls
(especially the lever) are mechanically exposed. There are several
ways to add some form of protection to the NanoVNA. The most
efficient way of doing so is to 3D print an enclosure. There are a
couple of designs available for download on various platforms. We
used the design by Hagster from Thingiverse:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3818979, which also offers a small
compartment for stowing away the SOLT calibrators.

Fig. 11: Protective enclosure

 This design keeps the original bottom and top covers but adds a
protective frame around the NanoVNA. Print the two parts of the
frame, open the screws on one side of the VNA, put on the respective
frame and screw the cover back in place. Repeat with the other side.

If you do not have access to a 3D-printer, try your local library or a

maker club. Alternatively, download and have a commercial print
service produce one for you.
 Two: Firmware
1. Introduction

If you are new to the NanoVNA, it is best to stick to the firmware

which was delivered with your device for the moment. All currently
available models come with a more or less recent, in any case,
usable firmware version. It is only after you familiarized with the VNA
and have a stronger feeling about your use case, that you might or
might not feel like changing the firmware. This is not very difficult, but
again, there is no real need to do so from the beginning. However, if
you decide to do so, check the end of this chapter, where we will
show in detail how to run the upgrade process.

The first firmware dates back to 2016 in conjunction with the kit
sold by edy555. This is open-source, so people picked it up and
several streams of firmware evolved since. You can write and compile
your own version if you want.

As of December 2019, there are four major streams of firmware,

all available from GitHub:

edy555: https://github.com/ttrftech/NanoVNA/releases

hugen79: https://github.com/hugen79/NanoVNA-H/releases

qrp73: https://github.com/qrp73/NanoVNA-Q/releases

reald: https://github.com/reald/NanoVNA/releases

All four of them run on any currently available version of the

NanoVNA (or NanoVNA-H). However, they will not run on the
NanoVNA-F!

You will now probably ask, which one you should aim for when
upgrading. The answer is: it depends, but it does not matter too
much, since all four cover all major functionality and they do so using
very similar user interfaces. Many users, including I, have problems
with a small text size on this tiny screen. Thus, my favorite at the time
of writing is hugen79s ''AA'' version, since this provides a larger text
size. By the time you are reading this book, there might be other
versions with other advantages as well. My best advice is to
subscribe to the NanoVNA user group at groups.io and check the
Wiki pages. There, people like Gyula Molnar try their best to keep up
to date and from time to time provide comparison tables between the
various versions.

2. First steps

Although we very much doubt that you have not already switched
on your NanoVNA by now, let's do this again and together. If you
have a model without a battery in front of you, connect the NanoVNA
with the USB-C cable to a suitable power source like a computer USB
port. At this time, nothing else needs to be connected to the device.

On the NanoVNA, there are very few control elements, all of them
located on the far side of the device.
 Fig. 12: Control elements

The NanoVNA is switched on by sliding the power switch to the

right side. For a short moment, some hard- and firmware information
is shown on the screen after which the screen changes and looks like
a chaos of colored lines and text, similar to figure 12. The size of the
text on your device, however, may be smaller. This is because I
already installed hugen79s ''AA'' firmware with increased font size.

Text and lines on the screen come in up to four colors plus white.
All information shown in a specific color is linked to the respective
graphical information. How many of these lines are shown, is
configurable as we will see later on. You can also choose for each
color, whether this information is related to S11 (= CH0) or S21 (=
CH1) measurements.

On the left side of the screen, you will see which calibration set is
in use and some details about it. This will look like ''C0'' and some
letters below it. We will deal with calibration in chapter Three.
 On the right side of the top line, there is a number, most probably
''1:'' and a frequency next to it. This is the frequency, where the
marker with this number currently resides. You can choose to have up
to four markers. On the charts, markers are shown as triangles with
their numbers inside.

The bottom line gives information about the frequency range,

which the current setup covers. Mostly this will be a start and a stop
frequency, but it also possible to choose a center frequency and a
span or a fixed frequency. This text is in white.

Two methods exist for controlling the device. There is a switch

with a lever to the right side of the power switch. This multi-switch can
be pushed to the left or right side and it can be pushed down. With
the lever, it is possible to navigate through the menu as well as move
the markers on the screen. Alternatively, the screen can be tapped on
with a stylus. There are dedicated styli available at computer shops.
Please do not use any sharp instrument as the screen can be
damaged. For the start, you can use your fingers, but you will soon
see, that this method is very coarse.

If you use a stylus, but you constantly miss the intended spot,
your screen and touchpad might be misaligned. In this case, jump to
section 7 of this chapter first and calibrate your screen.

Now either push down the multi-switch or tap on the screen. Any
of these actions will open the top menu.

The menu is structured into several levels. Selecting one

command will either provoke a direct action like setting a frequency or
bring you down to the next menu level. The bottom command in all
but the top-level reads ''< BACK'' and will bring you a level up.
Although the menu structure is very similar between different versions
of firmware, minor variations do exist.

Some models of the NanoVNA ship with a menu structure printed

on paper.
 Fig. 13: Sample menu structure, as provided with some models

If your model did not come with one, we highly recommend to

download it from the internet, print and keep handy during your first
encounters with the device. A search for “NanoVNA menu structure”
should bring you there.

When using a stylus, just tap on a command to invoke it, or tap

somewhere on the screen area outside of the menu to close the
menu. In order to navigate using the switch, push the lever of the
multi-switch to the right to move the current selection down, and push
left to move the selection up. Bringing the selection either way
outside the menu closes it. Pushing the multi-switch down will
activate the currently selected command.

Besides calibration data, which includes the settings of traces,

formats, and markers, the current versions of the firmware store no
data. If the NanoVNA is used standalone, all measured data has to
be read from the screen and noted by hand. Only by connecting it to
a computer, is it possible to store data digitally. This will be discussed
in chapter Four.

Two blue LEDs next to the power switch indicate the status of the
device, however, you do not need to pay a lot of attention to them.
The LED to the left of the power switch blinks during a charging
process and is permanently enlightened during the power-on of the
device. The LED to the right of the power switch blinks with each
frequency sweep.

The NanoVNA is switched off by sliding the power switch to the

left. There is no other shutdown process.

3. Traces

Data is measured with traces, where each trace represents

specific information about the DUT. This information can be one
number like SWR, or impedance which in turn consists of two
numbers (real and imaginary).

For each trace, there is a text line in the left upper part of the
screen and a line of the same color (yellow, blue, green and
magenta) in the chart. As mentioned earlier, up to four traces can be
displayed on the NanoVNA at the same time. For the sake of clarity,
however, it is often better to reduce the number of traces. Each trace
can be switched off and on individually. And for each trace the
channel and the format, as well as the display scaling, are user-
definable. At any time, there is always exactly one trace active for
manipulation. It is identified by the inverted channel information in the
text display.

Talking about the text lines, let’s look at them closer. The structure
of a line is always the following:

Channel_Format_Scale_Measured value(s)

Examples include:
 CH1 LOGMAG 10dB/ -20.74dB
CH0 SMITH 1.0FS 8.75Ω 7.61µH
CH1 SWR 1.00/ 1.38
CH0 PHASE 90°/ -161.928°

Such a line always starts with the channel on which the data is
measured. This can either be “CH0” or “CH1”.

Next is the format of the measured data. The following formats are
currently available:

LOGMAG: Magnitude of signal in decibel relative to the incident

signal
PHASE: Phase of signal in degrees relative to the incident signal
DELAY: Group delay versus frequency, typically in picoseconds or
nanoseconds
SMITH: Complex impedance at the selected port, real in Ω,
imaginary in H or F. Chart is normalized to plot 50 Ω in the center
SWR: Standing wave ratio
POLAR: Complex reflection resp. transmission coefficient, zero in
center
LINEAR: Norm of the complex reflection resp. transmission
coefficient
REAL: Real part of the complex reflection resp. transmission
coefficient
IMAG: Imaginary part of the complex reflection resp. transmission
coefficient
RESISTANCE: Real part of the impedance in Ω
REACTANCE: Imaginary part of the impedance in Ω

After the format and separated by a blank space is the scaling for
the charts. For linear charts, this gives the delta value between two
horizontal lines. A typical example is "10dB/". This means, that
between any two horizontal lines the value changes by 10 dB. For
Smith and polar charts, the scale is relative to full scale. Most
probably, you will keep this at the default value of 1.OFS, if you set
this to a value of 2.OFS on a polar chart, for example, the radius of
any point shown on the chart will be halve of the value at a setting of
1.OFS.

At the end of any line, there is the direct reading of the measured
data. This can be either one number, as for SWR or phase, or two
numbers plus units as for complex impedance values. When using
the NanoVNA standalone, these numbers will give the most precise
measurement results.

4. Markers

Markers highlight a specific data point by a small, colored triangle.

Current firmware for the NanoVNA allows for up to four markers at
the same time. Any marker will bear a number from 1 to 4 inside the
triangle and is shown on every active trace. The active marker can be
moved either by pushing the multi-switch to the left or right or by
tapping with the stylus on the marker and pulling it to either side. All
markers bearing the same number will move also.

The frequency at which the active marker resides is numerically

displayed in the upper left area of the screen.

Most importantly, all numerical information for the traces is related

to the current position of the active marker.

5. Chart types

There are three types of charts used on the NanoVNA. These are
automatically selected together with the type of information chosen by
the “FORMAT” command. They are:

Linear
 Fig. 14: Linear chart

A linear chart comes along with the following formats: LOGMAG,

PHASE, DELAY, SWR, LINEAR, REAL, IMAG, RESISTANCE and
REACTANCE.

There are always 9 horizontal lines. The scaling is adjustable

using the ''SCALE/DIV'' and ''REFERENCE POSITION'' commands.
With the first one, the numerical difference between two lines is set,
whereas the second command sets the origin to the respective line
number. The origin is marked by a small triangle on the left side of the
respective horizontal line.

Smith Chart
 Fig. 15: Smith chart

The Smith chart is a great tool for simultaneously depicting

several parameters like real and imaginary parts of impedance and at
the same time show how they change with frequency. It is a relative
graph, normalized to the system's impedance. For the NanoVNA this
is 50 Ω and any measured signal with a pure real impedance of 50 Ω
is shown right at the center of the Smith chart. All points along the
middle horizontal axis reflect solely real impedance numbers. The
leftmost of these points corresponds to zero Ohm and the rightmost
to infinity resistance. The NanoVNA displays information on a smith
chart after selecting the command ''SMITH''.

There is much more to Smith charts, but this is outside of the

scope of this book. However, we encourage the reader to dig deeper
into this fascinating chart type.

Polar Chart

Fig. 16: Polar chart

Polar charts are used for displaying complex numbers, like real
and imaginary parts of the complex reflection or transmission
coefficient, which is defined as:
 Formula 1: Complex reflection coefficient

In the above formula, Z0 is the system impedance (50 Ω for the

NanoVNA) and ZL is the complex impedance of the DUT. A polar
chart is invoked by the command ''POLAR''.

If more than one trace is displayed and if they are using different
chart types, all of them are printed at the same time. This is the case
with the default calibration C0 and has the potential to baffle the first
time user.

6. Worked examples: Charts, traces, and markers

We will now show with some examples, how traces, formats, and
markers are handled. Not all possible combinations will be dealt with,
but having worked through the examples you should be in a position
to set your NanoVNA working environment in any way you want to
have it. These examples are for getting familiar with the menu
structure only, you will find examples for real live measurements in
chapter Five. It is a good idea, to have a printed menu structure map
in front of you for reference now.

When you switch on the NanoVNA for the first time, it will start up
using the factory calibration, which has four traces active. Especially
for the beginner, this can be very confusing. Thus, in our first
example, we will deactivate all but one trace. Afterward, we will add
complexity as we familiarize ourselves with the device.

Don't worry, you cannot break anything, even if you go astray

during these examples. Just switch the NanoVNA off and on again,
and you will be back to the factory settings. Please don't expect any
precise results just now, we are still working with the default
calibration. As we will see in chapter Three, sound calibrations are a
must for reliable results.

Example 1: SWR measurement

 In our first example, the NanoVNA is configured to act as a simple
antenna analyzer, measuring the standing wave ratio. Please
(re-)start the NanoVNA by switching it (off and) on. As we only need
one trace now, we start by switching off the other ones.

Either push down the multi-switch or tap with the stylus anywhere
on the screen. Instantly the home menu will be opened on the right
side of the screen:

Fig. 17: Home menu

Now, choose the menu item ''DISPLAY''. Push the multi-switch to

the right once to highlight it. If you push too often, the following item is
highlighted. In this case, push the multi-switch to the left to go up one
item. If you push the multi-switch too often and the marker leaves the
menu either side, the main menu will disappear. In this case, just start
all over by pushing down the multi-switch again. Once the correct
command is highlighted, push the multi-switch down to activate the
command. If you work with a stylus, just tap on the command
''DISPLAY''.

When the next menu opens, select the command ''TRACE'' to

finally enter the selection of traces. There is a list from TRACE 0 to
TRACE 3, each highlighted in its respective color. Now either select
''TRACE 1'' using the multi-switch and push or tap on ''TRACE 1''.
This will make trace 1 the active trace, which is indicated by
highlighting the channel info at the beginning of the corresponding
text line. Then push or tap a second time to deactivate trace 1. Now
the color highlighting of the command will disappear. Repeat the
process for ''TRACE 2'' and ''TRACE 3'', which leaves just ''TRACE 0''
highlighted in yellow. Whenever a trace is deactivated, the
corresponding text line, as well as the line on the chart area,
disappears. Finally, close the menu either by moving the selection
outside by repeatedly pushing the multi-switch to the far left or far
right, or by tapping the stylus far outside the menu area on the
screen.

Summing up, these are the actions taken so far:

Open Home menu > DISPLAY > TRACE > TRACE 1 > TRACE 1
TRACE 2 > TRACE 2
TRACE 3 > TRACE 3
Close Menu

The screen will now look like the following picture:

Fig. 18: Only one trace active

There is only one trace left - which is good - but this trace still
shows the logarithmic magnitude of the reflected signal in dB. Which,
by the way, should be a number close to zero for the whole frequency
spectrum, as currently there is an open-end (infinite impedance) on
CH0.
 Now, we will switch the trace to SWR measurement. Open the
menu by either pushing down the multi-switch or tap anywhere on the
screen. The menu will open at the last screen, which in our case was
the traces-menu. We have to go up one level by selecting the ''←
BACK'' command. Next choose the ''FORMAT'' command, as we
want to set the current trace to another format. You will see a list of
formats. More formats are available on the second format page,
which would be accessible by selecting ''→ MORE". We do not need
this second page, as the ''SWR'' command is already on the first
page (if you switched to the second page accidentally, just go back to
the first one by using the ''← BACK'' command). Now select the
command ''SWR''. That's it: You just turned your NanoVNA into an
antenna analyzer!

These are the commands we used:

Open menu > ← BACK

FORMAT > SWR

Admittedly, the result is not mind-blowing. As CH0 is open-ended,

the SWR is way off and you will only see a straight yellow line,
horizontally at the top of the screen. The SWR numbers at the end of
the text line will be very high (actually implying infinity) as you can
confirm by moving marker 1 around. By screwing the 50 Ω load on
CH0 you can bring down the SWR to 1, or at least very close to 1.

If you happen to have a suitable rubber antenna from a 2 m/70 cm

portable transceiver handy, you should attach it to CH0. Instantly, the
screen gets more interesting and could look similar to the following
picture:
 Fig. 19: NanoVNA as antenna analyzer with 2m / 70 cm rubber antenna

Please bear in mind, that these measurements are not precise

since the NanoVNA is still not properly calibrated. We will see in
chapter Three how to calibrate.

Example 2: Attenuation of DUT, frequency and scale change,

markers

In this example, we will again change traces and adjust the

frequency range as well as chart scales. We will also make use of two
markers at the same time. Let us assume, that we want to measure
the reflected and transmitted signal of a DUT, which is inserted
between CH0 and CH1. A low pass filter for the 40 m band could be a
good use case for that.

Restart the NanoVNA by switching off and on. Remove anything

from the CH0 and CH1 connectors. The first step is to reduce traces
so that only trace 0 and trace 1 are left. You know, how to do this,
don't you?

Open Home menu > DISPLAY > TRACE > TRACE 2 > TRACE 2
TRACE 3 > TRACE 3

There are now only the yellow and blue traces left. The first,
yellow text line is set on CH0 with a LOGMAG format at a 10 dB
scaling. The measured value should be close to 0.00 dB as the open
end completely reflects the incident signal. The second trace in blue
is set to CH1, again in a LOGMAG format and a 10 dB scaling. As
CH0 and CH1 are currently not connected, there is no transmitted
signal and any reading is solely due to noise or non-perfect isolation.
Numbers can differ but should be below -60 dB at the lower end of
the frequency span, which is 50 kHz. If one or the other trace is not
set to LOGMAG format, this can be changed by the process which
we learned in the first example. In case the traces are not set to
''CH0'' and ''CH1'' resp., highlight the affected channel by selecting
the trace, go back to the next menu level and select ''CHANNEL''.
Now select the correct channel.

According to our assumption above, our hypothetical DUT is a low

pass filter for shortwave. We are neither interested in its response to
very low frequencies nor VHF or UHF. As the NanoVNA works with a
fixed number of 101 equally spaced measurement points, it is a good
idea to always cut down the frequency span to the area of interest. In
our example, we want to concentrate on frequencies between 1.5 and
30 MHz.

We will now set the lower end of the frequency span to 1.5 MHz
with the command ''START''. Most probably, you will still see the trace
menu on your screen now. Hit the ''← BACK'' command to move one
level up. Now select ''← BACK'' again and you are on the home
menu. At the home menu, select ''STIMULUS''. You will see a choice
of the following commands for controlling the frequency range and
sweeps:

START: Lower end of the frequency range

 STOP: Upper end of the frequency range
CENTER: Center frequency
SPAN: Frequency span around the center frequency, from lower
to upper end
CW FREQ: One single measurement frequency
PAUSE SWEEP: Pauses measurements, will be highlighted when
selected. Select again to restart sweeps

In our example, we use the ''START'' command first to set the

lower end to 1.5 MHz. After selecting the command, a numerical
keypad opens up:

Fig. 20: Numeric keypad for entering frequencies

You will find the numbers 0 to 9 and delete (''←''), as well as units
(''x1'' to ''G''). When using the multi-switch, move the cursor through
the field by pushing the switch left or right until the intended symbol is
highlighted. Then push the switch down to select this symbol. With a
stylus, just tap on the symbol. First enter a number, followed by a
unit. After selecting the unit, the entered frequency is set and the
numeric keypad disappears. Any combination of numbers and units is
possible. In our case, entering 1500 followed by selecting ''k'' will set
the lower frequency end to 1.5 MHz. As will 1.5 followed by ''M'' or
even 1500000 followed by ''x1''.

At the lower-left corner of the screen, you will see ''START

1.500MHz'', indicating the new lower end of the frequency sweep.
Next, we repeat a similar procedure for the upper end, which we will
set at 30 MHz. Invoke the menu again and now select ''STOP''. Enter
3 and 0 and select the unit ''M''. This sets the higher end of the scan
to 30 MHz and closes the menu.

Summing up, this is, what we did to set a new frequency range:

Home menu > STIMULUS > START > 1 > 5 > 0 > 0 > k
Open menu > STOP > 3 > 0 > M

Another method would have been to select a center frequency

first and a frequency span afterward. Using the command ''CENTER''
and ''SPAN'' you can also set a range. A center frequency of 10 MHz
and a span of 6 MHz will lead to a sweep from 7 to 13 MHz. If you
want to measure at one frequency only, you can set this frequency
with the command ''CW FREQ''.

Next, let us adjust the scale of the reflected (S11) signal on CH0.
There are two settings, which affect this scale. One is the scaling per
division of the vertical scale, which can be set with the command
''SCALE/DIV''. The other one is the origin of the vertical scale, set
with the command ''REFERENCE POSITION''.

Before changing either, the trace has to be selected, for which the
scale will be changed. This is done by selecting the respective trace
at the ''TRACE'' menu. In our case we select ''TRACE 1''.

Enter the ''DISPLAY'' menu and the ''SCALE'' sub-menu. Select

''SCALE/DIV'' and choose 5 dB/div. by selecting 5, followed by ''x1''.
Now the first line reads ''CH0'' followed by '', ''5dB/'' and the
logarithmic magnitude of the signal at the current position of the
marker. Any visible deviation from a straight line will be doubled in
size.

Enter the menu again and select ''REFERENCE POSITION''.

Now, this is a bit tricky. The reference position only works for linear
charts. The reference position is the position of the vertical origin and
is defined as line number, counted from the bottom. The horizontal
line at the very bottom bears the number 0 and the line at the top of
the screen the number 8. Any number outside this range will bring the
reference point outside of the screen. A small triangle in the
respective color to the left of the chart marks the current position of
the reference point. Default values for the reference points are 7 for
the logarithmic magnitude format, 4 for PHASE, DELAY, REAL, IMAG
and REACTANCE charts and 0 for SWR, LINEAR and RESISTANCE
charts. We choose a value of 4 and observe, that the yellow line for
the S11-signal moves down to the middle of the screen.

In the last section, the following commands have been applied for
changing a scale:

Home menu > DISPLAY > SCALE > SCALE/DIV > 5 > x1
Open menu > REFERENCE POSITION > 4 > x1

Finally, we have a closer look at markers and will add a second

marker. One way of using markers is as an alternative for setting the
frequency sweep range with the “STIMULUS” command. Just set the
active marker to a specific frequency and select “MARKER” from the
home menu, followed by one of the commands “→START”,
“→STOP”, “→CENTER” or “→SPAN” and the NanoVNA will change
the frequency range accordingly.

By default, the NanoVNA will display one marker in the form of a

triangle. Actually, it is one marker per trace, all colored according to
the trace and identified by the number "1" inside. They all move
simultaneously when pushing the multi-switch or pulling one of them
with the stylus. At the same time, the current frequency at the position
of the marker is displayed in white text at the upper right corner of the
screen, preceded by "1:" to indicate that it is associated with marker
number 1.

By adding a second marker, not only two points of interest can be

highlighted, but their difference in frequency will be displayed directly
on the screen, which can be a very helpful tool. Up to four markers
can be set using the ''SELECT MARKER'' menu below the
''MARKER'' menu at the home menu.
 7. Adjusting the screen and touchpad

This section is only relevant for users who chose to control the
NanoVNA with a stylus. Sometimes the screen and the resistive pad
on top of it get out of sync. This happens on other similar devices as
well. On the NanoVNA, such a misalignment can be corrected in
most firmware versions.

Initiate by choosing ''CONFIG'' on the home menu, followed by

''TOUCH CAL''. You will be asked to touch the upper left corner and
afterward the lower right corner. The quality of the calibration can be
checked by selecting ''TOUCH TEST'' and drawing on the screen.

8. Updating the firmware

We mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, that there is an

active group of people updating various streams of firmware. Any of
the above-mentioned versions will run on all NanoVNA or NanoVNA-
H hardware as of December 2019 (but not on the NanoVNA-F).

Typically, the current firmware version is briefly shown during

startup or can be viewed by selecting the command ''VERSION'' at
the ''CONFIG'' submenu. Although our advice is to stick with the
original firmware for your first steps with the NanoVNA, along with
your experience there will come a time, when you want to upgrade.
Reasons for doing so include new measurement functionality (TDR is
fairly new) or new display features, like an increased text size in
hugen79s ''AA'' versions.

During the remainder of this chapter, we will show, how such an

upgrade is done via a standard Windows 10 PC. Users of earlier
versions of Windows can follow the same procedure but might
encounter problems with a driver. There are also ways for Mac- and
Linux users. Please refer to the wiki of the nanovna-users group at
Groups.io in such a case.
 a. Download STSW-STM32080 from the ST site and install on
your PC

You will get two tools: DFU File Manager and DfuSe Demo. The
DFU File Manager is not needed if the firmware is available in the
.dfu file format, which is usually the case. If there are S19, HEX or
BIN file formats available, you can generate a .dfu file out of these
with the DFU File Manager first.

b. Download the firmware you want to upload to your

NanoVNA

Please refer to the introductory section of this chapter to find a

suitable firmware version for you and where to download. If available,
use versions in .dfu format. Otherwise, convert with the DFU File
Manager. Remember where you save the firmware to.

c. Check the current firmware on your NanoVNA

New versions will provide the ''-DFU'' under the ''CONFIG''

command at the home menu. Selecting this will offer ''RESET AND
ENTER DFU''. This command sets the NanoVNA directly in the DFU
mode to upgrade. Switching the device off and on again will bring
back normal operation.

If the original firmware version is older, it might lack the ''-DFU''

command. In this case, you will have to open the device for your first
upgrade. After your first upgrade, you will probably never have to do
this again. Identify the ''BOOT0'' contact next to the ''VDD'' contact on
the populated side of the PCB. It is situated at the left, upper side as
shown in the following picture:
 Fig. 21: Position of the BOOT0 and VDD contacts

Briefly shortening those two contacts with a piece of wire will

immediately bring the NanoVNA into the DFU mode. Identical to the
menu invoked DFU mode, switching off and on brings the device
back into normal operation. So you can safely check this procedure
out before you move on.

d. Connect the NanoVNA to your computer

Using the USB-C to USB-A cable, connect the NanoVNA to your

PC and switch on the VNA. Now enter the DFU mode with the
appropriate method for your device.

e. Use DfuSe Demo to upgrade the firmware

 Start DfuSe Demo and make sure that ''STM Device in DFU
Mode'' at ''Available DFU Device'' is selected (Circle 1 in figure 22).

Fig. 22: DfuSe Demo step 1 (1, 2, 3 and 4)

It is advisable to store a backup of your current firmware first.

Under ''Upload Action'' select ''Choose…'' (Circle 2), enter a name for
the backup and ''Upload'' the current firmware to your computer.

For selecting the new firmware to be uploaded to the NanoVNA

click ''Choose…'' in the lower middle of the window (Circle 3) and
select the .dfu file from step b. The bottom bar of the window will turn
green and tells you ''File loaded correctly''.

Finally, write the new firmware to your device by hitting the

''Upgrade'' button (Circle 4), which will be active at this stage. If there
is a warning message about DfuSe Demo not being able to check the
firmware, you can safely ignore it. Do not interfere during the
following process, which only takes a few seconds. The process
finishes by telling you ''Verify successful !''

Now the NanoVNA must be switched off and on to start it with the
new firmware.
 Three: Calibration
1. Reason and definitions

The NanoVNA is a very capable, high precision measurement

device. But unlike some other instruments, it needs careful calibration
before reliable measurement results can be expected. This is
primarily due to the fact, that a VNA provides phase information, not
only magnitudes. Bear in mind, that we are talking about a sensitivity
of up to 70 dB. This is one in ten million!

The phase of a signal is changed by many effects, not least by the

distance the signal has to travel. Even close to the speed of light, just
a few centimeters more or less will change the phase of a signal of a
few hundred million times per second.

This leads to the definition of the reference plane, which is the

location where the DUT will be connected to the NanoVNA.
Sometimes, this is directly at the SMA connectors of the device, like
in the upper part of the following picture. However, normally it will be
at the end of some attached cables like in the lower part.
 Fig. 23: Defining the reference plane

It is very important, that the SOLT calibrators are fitted at the

position of the reference plane during the calibration process! Doing
so removes the effects on the measured data of everything which is
inserted between the NanoVNA and the reference plane. For some
setups (e.g. when measuring an amplifier), an attenuator has to be
inserted to protect CH1. Inserting the attenuator between the
reference plane and NanoVNA ensures the validity of the results.

As the SOLT (short, open, load, through) calibrators are well

defined, the firmware ''knows'' what to expect when they are
connected one after the other. The short introduces a reflection of the
incident wave at the fixed end. Ideally, the incoming wave is reflected
and its phase is shifted by 180°. With the open calibrator attached,
again all of the incident wave is (ideally) reflected, but now there is no
phase shift. The load calibrator, on the other hand, provides a perfect
match and accordingly none of the incident wave should be reflected.
Finally, the through connector directly connects CH0 to CH1, so the
incident wave is expected to travel without loss and phase change to
the second port. After having measured what the real signals are
during the calibration process and comparing it with the expected
values, the firmware builds a model of the errors and applies this
model to future measurements on DUTs. Such a model is simply
called calibration and can be stored on the NanoVNA.

Two types of calibrations can be identified for the NanoVNA. A full

calibration ensures that the reflected, as well as the transmitted
measured signals, are corrected. An S11 calibration on the other
hand, only cares for the reflected wave and can not be used for CH1
measurements.

2. Calibration management

For now, we will talk about calibrations in the context of using the
NanoVNA on a standalone basis. If you use the device connected to
a computer and with software, the calibration process might no longer
take place inside the firmware but can be moved to the software on
the PC. Such an external calibration is discussed in chapter Four.

The NanoVNA allows for 5 calibration sets (some firmware

versions: 4) to be saved in memory. They are stored using the
commands CAL > SAVE > SAVE n, where n is a number from 0 to 4.
After storing, the device can be switched off, but the data remains.
Any calibration set can be restored and used by choosing RECALL >
RECALL n from the home menu.

At any time, information about the currently active calibration set

is displayed on the left side of the screen in white text. The following
picture gives an example:

Fig. 24: Calibration information on the screen

When performing measurements, it is always a good idea to

check this calibration information to ensure valid results.

C0 (Capital or lower ''c'', followed by the calibration set number or

''*'')
D (Directivity)
R (Reflection)
S (Source Match)
T (Transmission Tracking)
X (Isolation)
 The C is a capital letter if the currently selected frequency range is
identical to the one at the time of calibration. This ensures the best
quality of the results. If it is a lower case letter, this indicates that the
current range is not identical to the calibration range and the firmware
is forced to inter- or extrapolate data. In this case, the results might
still be of indicative value, but the quality will suffer. A star ''*'' after the
letter means, that the calibration set is not saved yet. If there is no
letter c at all, this indicates that no error correction is applied and the
results are very unreliable. Using the command ''CORRECTION''
toggles the correction on and off, where highlighting indicates that it is
switched on.

The letters below the first line indicate which type of error
correction is available with the active calibration set. Directivity
requires calibration with a load, Reflection an open and Source Match
a short calibrator. These three are the minimum required for an S11
calibration. The through connector is necessary for Transmission
Tracking and for the Isolation, and you will need at least one load
(better: two loads). For a full calibration, all five letters must be
shown.

Here are some examples:

C2 = valid calibration set, saved as number 2

c1 = calibration set saved as number 1 but applied to a different
frequency range
C* = valid calibration set, not yet saved
No C at all = no error correction applied, results unreliable!
D R S T X = full calibration, valid for reflection (S11) and
transmission (S21) results
D R S = partial calibration, valid for reflection (S11) measurements
only

A brand new NanoVNA usually ships with a default full calibration

in storage space number 0, covering the frequency range from 50
kHz to 900 MHz. However, this calibration is not device-specific and
accordingly not very precise. You should replace it with a custom
calibration rather sooner than later.

Storage space 0 is different from the other ones, in that the

NanoVNA will always startup using this calibration. But you can easily
pull up the other sets with ''RECALL''.

Although it is called calibration set, saving such a set not only

includes a calibration, but also the frequency sweep range and the
settings for traces, formats, and markers.

How you manage your calibration sets is totally up to you.

However, some users prefer to save a wide frequency sweep (50 kHz
to 900 or 1500 MHz) in storage space 0. This allows for a quick
overview of the frequency response of a new DUT. The next storage
spaces can be attributed to frequency bands of interest, like HF, UHF
or VHF. The last storage space might be used for ad hoc calibrations,
bespoke settings for the respective problem at hand.

3. Calibration process

As we have seen earlier, a calibration is very specific, especially

regarding the measurement setup defining the reference plane. It
might be tempting to try and connect the DUT directly at the SMA
connectors of the NanoVNA, but this is not the recommended way.
For one reason, this could lead to excessive strain on the connectors,
which are soldered directly to the PCB. Additionally, SMA connectors
only allow for a limited number of coupling processes before the
connection gets unreliable. Replacing cables is easy, soldering a new
connector to the PCB not.

Most users connect their DUTs with short (15 to 30 cm) coaxial
cables (''pigtails'') to the NanoVNA. These can be made of RG 174 or
RG 316 (see chapter One) with male SMA connectors and stay
attached to the device. Their other ends define the reference plane.
This is the position where the SOLT calibrators have to be connected
via a female-female through connector.
 Before starting a calibration process, you have to set the
frequency range. The NanoVNA measures and calibrates at 101
equally spaced frequencies within this range. For all other
frequencies, the firmware needs to inter- or extrapolate. Accordingly,
it is best if the calibration range is exactly the same as the
measurement range later on. Use the process as described in
chapter Two. You can also set traces, formats, and markers to your
liking as these will also be saved, but this can be done later (even
after the first time saving) as well.

After switching on the NanoVNA, arrange the cables in a parallel,

non-overlapping fashion and open the home menu by pushing the
multi-switch down or by tapping on the screen with a stylus. Select
CAL and you enter the calibration menu. Now you need to ''RESET''
first in order to prepare for a new calibration process, which is then
invoked by ''CALIBRATE''. Attach the through connector (see figure 7)
gently but tight to the end of the cable which is attached to CH0,
followed by the open connector.
 Fig. 25: Attaching the O- via the T-connector and cable to CH0

After selecting the ''OPEN'' command, the command gets

highlighted and the cursor moves to the next command ''SHORT''.

Replace the open calibrator by the short calibrator and select

''SHORT''. Then exchange for the load and press ''LOAD''. This is all
that is needed for an S11 calibration, which could be finished by
selecting ''DONE''. For a full calibration however, unscrew the through
connector with the load and attach both to the end of the cable to
CH1. For highest precision, you should have a second load and
through calibrator ready which you screw to CH0, if you don't, leave
the CH0 cable open. Select ''ISOLN''. Finally, remove the load(s) and
connect the two cables together using the through calibrator. Select
''THRU'' and leave the calibration with ''DONE''. This will change the
menu to the save menu. Always finish a calibration by storing it by
selecting ''SAVE n'' with n being the number of the storage space.

This is the whole process of a full calibration again:

Home menu > CAL > RESET > CALIBRATE

Attach Open to CH0 > OPEN
Attach Short to CH0 > SHORT
Attach Load to CH0 > LOAD
Attach Load to CH1 (and a second load to CH1, if available) >
ISOLN
Connect CH0 and CH1 with Through > THRU
DONE
SAVE n

Now the calibration is safely stored and the device is ready for
measurements now or some other time. Retrieving the calibration is
as easy as selecting ''RECALL'' on the home menu, followed by
''RECALL n'' with n being the storage space number.

Restoring a saved calibration:

Home menu > RECALL > RECALL n

 One final word of caution. Like for many other precision
instruments, a thermal effect has been observed for the NanoVNA.
For up to about half an hour after switching on the NanoVNA,
especially if the battery is being charged during that time, readings
can drift. This seems to be most pronounced for very small and very
large values, i.e. far away from the nominal 50 Ω. If you encounter
such a drift and need ultimate precision, have the NanoVNA warm-up
before calibration and measurements.

By now, you have learned everything that you need to

successfully use the NanoVNA on a standalone basis. If you want to
know, how you can improve precision and handling by using
dedicated software for the device, continue reading the next chapter.
For some real-world examples of how to use the NanoVNA, go to the
final chapter Five.
 Four: Software
There are a couple of reasons, why users connect the NanoVNA
to another devices. The battery is one. Connected to a USB-A port,
the NanoVNA will be powered externally. Even a simple power bank
will do for that purpose. Another reason is readability. Arguably, the
readings on the screen of the NanoVNA are small, low resolution and
difficult to read for some users. Connected to a computer, tablet or
even smartphone, the data is shown on that other device and
typically much better to read. Documentation via screenshots or S-
parameter files (see chapter One) is another reason to use software.
Some software also offers increased precision for the calibration
process. It is also possible to talk directly to the firmware using serial
communication, as we will see at the end of this chapter.

As of December 2019, there are a couple of programs available

for the NanoVNA, which we discuss in more or less detail during this
chapter.

1. NanoVNA Saver

This is probably the most comprehensive software currently

available for the NanoVNA. It was created and is actively serviced by
Rune Broberg. As this software is based on Python it can be installed
on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Check it on GitHub, where you will find
the latest release and instructions for installation. The following
information is based on the NanoVNA Saver 0.2.1 release running on
a Windows 10 computer.

The software comes as one .exe file, which after starting opens a
black, DOS-like window for a couple of seconds. A few seconds later
the main window will pop up and fill the screen of your computer.
 Fig. 26: NanoVNA Saver
Connect the NanoVNA with the USB cable to any USB port of the
computer and switch it on. Check the ''Serial port control'' area at the
lower, left corner of the NanoVNA Saver window. It will look like in
figure 27.

Fig. 27: Device not connected

Now push ''Rescan'' and the field to the left of the button will be
populated with the port number assigned to the NanoVNA. In my
case, this is Port 4. Push ''Connect to NanoVNA'' to start the
connection.
 Fig. 28: NanoVNA connected to NanoVNA Saver

Now your computer is ready to communicate with the NanoVNA.

The sweep (e.g. frequency range) control resides in the upper left
corner of the window. Not only can you set the range in many ways
(start/stop, center/span, numbers in Hz or other units), but there is
also the fantastic feature of segmented sweeps. You will record from
earlier chapters, that the NanoVNA firmware sweeps with a fixed set
of 101 points. This can be a major shortcoming when trying to scan a
wide frequency range and still needing high-frequency resolution.
NanoVNA Saver tackles this issue by allowing to cut a sweep into
several segments of 101 points each. Afterward, these segments are
seamlessly put together to give a wider range. The number of
segments used is manually entered in the ''Segments'' field.

Fig. 29: Sweep control

The sweep control also offers the ''Sweep settings…'' button for
increased functionality, out of which the possibility to average over
multiple sweeps and eliminate outliers reduces noise significantly.
There is also the possibility to set sweeps for most ham radio bands
with the push of one button.

Fig. 30: Sweep settings

All of these sweep settings are applied to measurements as well

as the calibration process.

NanoVNA Saver does not use the firmware calibration sets of the
device. It ignores them. But the software allows superior handling of
multiple calibration sets and enhanced error correction by including
data about the calibration standards, i.e. the S, O, L and T calibrators.

The calibration process is initiated by pushing the ''Calibration…''

button in the lower-left corner. This will open a new window, which
contains two sections. The left part is for the actual calibration and
the right part for entering detailed information about the calibration
standards themselves, if available. Due to their physical properties,
the calibration standards introduce some complex resistance and
phase delay. By knowing and entering this data, an even higher
degree of measurement precision is obtainable. If you do not have
these details, leave the box ''Use ideal values'' checked.

Kurt Poulsen, OZ7OU, a VNA calibration specialist measured the

S, O, L and T calibrators, which usually come together with a new
NanoVNA. He published the data for several configurations, out of
which the most common one is for attaching the calibrators at the
SMA-male ends of connector cables with a through connector. If you
use this setup, uncheck the box (red circle) and enter the following
data:
 Fig. 31: Calibration setup

These settings should be saved under a telling name for future

use (blue circle in figure 31).

The calibration process itself is similar to the one using the

firmware. Pushing the ''Calibration assistant'' button (green circle)
starts a guided tour through the process. After the SOL-calibration
(S11-calibration) you can stop and apply or continue with ''Yes'' to a
full calibration. Again, enter a name and save the calibration. Now the
calibration window can be closed and the NanoVNA put to use.

After a measurement sweep, the data is shown in up to six small

charts in the right part of the main NanoVNA Saver window. How
many and which charts are displayed are just a few settings available
to personalize the software which can be changed under ''Displayed
charts''.

Markers can be inserted and moved either by clicking into one of

the charts and pulling or by entering a frequency in one of the marker
fields. Measured data at the markers frequencies is shown in the
middle of the window.

For some popular cases, NanoVNA Saver offers automatic

analyzers. Push the ''Analysis…'' button and select your DUT from a
pull-down list including several types of filters and VSWR analysis.

Fig. 32: Sweep Analyzer

 Another feature of NanoVNA Saver worth mentioning is time
domain reflectometry (TDR). This method measures impedance in
the time domain and is capable e.g. of identifying lengths or distances
to defects of antenna cables. Pressing the ''Time Domain
Reflectometry..." button produces a picture similar to the following
one.

Fig. 33: Example of TDR-Analysis

There are more examples of the NanoVNA Saver in use in

chapter Five about use cases.

Sometimes it is beneficial to see the results of two different

measurements on one chart. By pushing ''Set current as reference''
the first data will not be replaced by a following sweep but showed
together with it.

NanoVNA Saver can create and save S-parameter files, which

contain S-data in a standardized form. Many other tools, including
RF-simulation software like SPICE and RFSim99, can read those
files and include the DUT as a kind of black box. Push the ''Files…''
button on the main window and choose the file format (S1P for S11-
parameters and S2P for S21-parameters).

2. NanoVNA-Web-Client

This software, written by cho45 comes in two versions. One is an

app for android devices like smartphones. It can be downloaded from
Google´s Play Store. Another possibility is to run it directly on a
website. To use the web application, you need to use the Google
Chrome browser and need to enable this flag:
chrome://flags/#enable-experimental-web-platform-features.
Otherwise, your device won't show up. A pop-up from your browser
will appear and, if the device is connected to the PC, it will be on the
list and you can select it.
 Fig. 34: NanoVNA Client on a smartphone

A very handsome feature of the NanoVNA Client is the possibility

to create good quality screenshots of the original NanoVNA screen by
using the menu item ''Capture Device''. We used this throughout
chapter Two of this book.

In contrast to NanoVNA Saver, the NanoVNA Client software uses

the calibration sets, which are stored on the device. However, they
can be retrieved and saved from within the software.

Other functions include TDR measurements and saving S-

parameter files.

3. NanoVNASharp

NanoVNASharp is another software for the NanoVNA. It has a

very similar design and functionality as the NanoVNA Saver.

Fig. 35: NanoVNASharp

 4. Other software

There are other means of interfacing with the NanoVNA. People

successfully hooked it up to Matlab/Labview and Octave. Or give
NanoVNA Partner or TAPR VNA a try.

5. Serial communication

The NanoVNA communicates with any software through serial

communication via the USB-cable. It is possible to talk to the device
in a terminal session. This gives direct control and allows for certain
settings, which are currently not implemented in any software.

As Hyperterm is no longer included in newer versions of Windows,

you have to install a terminal program first. We recommend PuTTY
for that purpose. You can download the official PuTTY software from
the putty.org website. You will be redirected to another Website where
you choose the version you want to install. Because the PuTTY-
Software is only for Windows, we recommend to just install the latest
Version (Pay attention to the version you download, because there is
a 32-bit and a 64-bit version). After downloading the .msi File, open it
and you'll be guided by a setup wizard through the installation
process.

Connect your NanoVNA via USB to your computer. Start PuTTY

and select ''Serial'' as the Connection type. Then enter the correct
COM Port (If you have trouble identifying the port for your VNA, open
the Device Manager (Start / Settings / Control Panel / System /
Hardware / Device Manager). Look for a Dropdown-Menu called
"Connections (COM & LPT)". Open it and check for a device called
"Serial USB-Device (COM*)". Remember the COM Port number and
enter it in PuTTY.)
 Fig. 36: PuTTY settings

Now click “Open” and a window for the serial communication pops
up.
 Fig. 37: Serial communication window

There is a certain set of commands for the NanoVNA. Try and

type in ''version'', followed by hitting enter. This will return the
currently installed firmware version of the NanoVNA.

A complete command set is available here. Depending on your

firmware version, you can even set the bias (command ''vbat_offset''),
which the battery diode (see chapter One) introduces and increase
the precision of the battery indicator on the NanoVNA.

Looking for more information? Regularly check the Wiki of the

nanovna-users group at groups.io for updates or new software.
 Five: Use cases for the NanoVNA
This chapter is dedicated to some of the most common use cases
for the NanoVNA in a typical ham radio environment. In no way they
can be exhaustive or claim to be the only way to go for a given
problem. We hope, that the hands on type of description can assist
the reader during her first experiments and makes her wish for more.

We will put the device to use, either standalone or together with

the NanoVNA Saver software. Of course, other software (see chapter
Four) will also do.

In each section we describe the DUT and the targeted results first,
before the chosen measurement setup is shown. Finally the results
and insights gained are illustrated by charts and pictures.

1. Loading coil

DUT

Our first DUT is a loading coil for a 40 m short vertical antenna.

We are interested in its inductance and quality. Earlier simulations
with an online tool suggest values close to 10 µH and an effective
series AC resistance of about 1.4 Ω. Especially the resistance might
be demanding to measure, since it is very low and thus far away from
the characteristic 50 Ω impedance.

Setup

The loading coil is measured by its reflected signal S11 on CH0

only. We prepare a female SMA connector for PCBs by removing all
ground connectors but one and solder the leads of the coil to it (figure
38).
 Fig. 38: DIY multipurpose connector

With this connector, the coil will be attached to CH0 via a pigtail
cable with male SMA connectors on both ends. We decide to use the
NanoVNA in conjunction with the NanoVNA Saver software for
superior calibration and the possibility to average over several
sweeps. Accordingly the NanoVNA is hooked up to a laptop PC by
the USB cable.
 Fig. 39: Measurement setup

In the NanoVNA Saver software the frequency sweep range is set

from 1.5 to 30 MHz. This not only covers the working frequency but
some area of interest around and advises the software to average
over 25 sweeps and discard some outliers to reduce noise.
 Fig. 40: Sweep settings

With these settings, the calibration process is run and the

calibration saved to the PC. During the calibration process the coil is
removed and successively replaced by the calibrators. As we do not
need a full calibration we can apply the data already after the SOL
process.

Now the coil is attached again and measured.

Results

For graphical representation of the results we choose the S11

quality chart and the S11 R+jX chart.

Fig. 41: S11 Charts

The measured quality chart confirms, that the coil is suitable for
the 40 m band, as its quality peaks around 7 MHz. The right chart
reveals, that the coil is self resonant at about 29 MHz.

Setting the red marker to 7.2 MHz brings detailed information

about the coil.
 Fig. 42: Loading coil data

The AC resistance consists of a real part of 1.7 Ω and an

imaginary part of + 442 Ω, which translates into an inductance of 9.77
µH at this frequency. The calculated quality is 256. This data is well in
agreement with the simulation.

2. Band pass filter

DUT

The second DUT is a double-tuned-circuit band pass filter for the

20 m band. It is sold by QRP Labs as a kit and built on a bespoke
PCB. We are interested in the insertion loss, attenuation outside the
pass band and the impedance.

Setup

Such a filter measurement is a typical application for a VNA. It

requires a 2-port setup for retrieving the attenuation. As this specific
filter is just one out of series, all with the same PCB and connectors,
we built an adapter, which allows for these filters to be plugged in. We
soldered SMA-female connectors to the adapter, suitable for the
pigtail connectors.
 Fig. 43: Adapter

Now the DUT can easily be connected to both ports of the

NanoVNA.

Fig. 44: Setup for filter measurements

 Results

After calibration and measurement sweep we first visit the S21

Gain chart and see a characteristic band pass filter shape, peaking
around around 14 MHz.

Fig. 45: S21 Gain

With the help of NanoVNA Savers analysis tool, it is easy to come

up with a complete set of parameters for the filter.
 Fig. 46: BPF Analysis

We learn, that the center frequency is 14.297 MHz and the -3 dB

bandwidth is 1.496 MHz. Although the center frequency is a bit on the
high side, generally the parameters are good and in agreement with
the sellers information. We could even try to trim down the center, no
problem with a tool like the NanoVNA.

After placing a marker to the center frequency, many more details

are shown.
 Fig. 47: BPF details for center frequency

At 14.3 MHz the insertion loss is 1.77 dB, which is good. And the
impedance of 38.6 – j12.8 Ω leading to a SWR of 1.47, shouldn’t
pose any problem in the receiver where this filter belongs, too.

3. Antenna cable defect

DUT

Now we simulate a short somewhere in an RG-58 antenna cable.

Finding such a fault in an arranged cable can pose a major challenge,
including gymnastics and climbing. However, with the NanoVNA at
hand, it is possible to very precisely track down the distance to the
short and go right there. This is done by measuring the time the
signal needs to travel to the short (and back) and convert it into
distance. To be clear, it need not be a short, the Time Domain
Reflectometry (TDR) measurement method will work on other defects
too, as long as they bring along a significant change in impedance.

Setup

For simulating the defect, we took a piece of about 1 m of coaxial

cable, attached a tee and continued with about 16 m of terminated
RG-58. At the tee we shortened the cable.
 Fig. 48: Cable defect simulation setup

Now we attached the first cable to the CH0 pigtail, using a SMA-
female to BNC-female adapter.

This time, the NanoVNA is used mobile as a standalone device.

For TDR measurements it is generally advisable to start with a very
wide frequency range of 50 kHz to 900 MHz. This can be reduced
later on, if needed. We only need a S11 calibration for this purpose.

Select 2 traces (DELAY and PHASE), both on CH0 and one

marker.

The important part is to switch the NanoVNA now into the

transformation mode (Home menu > DISPLAY > TRANSFORM). If
your firmware does not offer this mode, you should consider an
upgrade (see chapter Two).
 Fig. 49: TDR menu

It is key to enter the velocity factor of the cable at the "VELOCITY

FACTOR" command. This is entered in percent, so 66 x1 for a factor
of 66%. Now select "LOW PASS STEP" followed by "TRANSFORM
ON". The menu disappears and the horizontal axis is no longer in
Hertz, but in seconds (actually: ns).

Fig. 50: TDR screenshots

When looking at the chart, it gets very clear, that there is a

disruption at about 20% of the time axis. The DELAY spikes down
and the PHASE abruptly changes from 0° to 180°. Moving the marker
to this position not only reveals the exact time (9.54 ns), but also
gives a direct reading of the distance from the reference plane to the
defect. Which in our case reads 944 mm and is very close to the
position of the short, induced by the tee.
 Closing remarks
We hope that you enjoyed our tour around the NanoVNA and this
book helped getting your feet wet. This is really a device which is fun
to play with and a high quality measuring instrument at the same
time. Given the low price tag, there is no reason, why the NanoVNA
should not find it’s way into every shack or on every workbench. With
this book, we tried to remove the presumably highest hurdle on this
way, namely the absence of a comprehensive manual in the box.

It goes without words, that there are many more use cases, tips
and tricks than a book can realistically cover. Like in most similar
situations, the WWW is your friend here. We specifically invite you to
join the nanovna-users group at groups.io where you will find lively
and supportive discussions.

This is the first edition of "A guide to the NanoVNA", so comments

and suggestions for improvements are very welcome. Please contact
the authors by email: [email protected].

About the authors

Christoph Schwärzler, OE1CGS studied physics and business
administration in Vienna / Austria. Professionally, he works outside of
the technology arena, but keeps a keen interest in science. He has
been into amateur radio for many years, with a focus on DIY projects,
which he presents on his website www.oe1cgs.at. Chris is a member
of the Austrian Amateur Radio Society (ÖVSV).

Maximilian Schwärzler, OE1SML passed his first class amateur

radio exam last year at the age of thirteen and is currently climbing a
steep learning curve into this fascinating hobby. His focus is on digital
communication and programming. Max currently studies at the
Schottengymnasium in Vienna / Austria. Next to amateur radio, he
shares a passion for sailing with his dad and is a keen skier.