New NanoVNA model covers 10KHz to 1.5GHz

[Mike Lewis]

In case you have not seen it yet, NanoVNA-H and NanoVNA-H4 (a 4” screen version) are now available with extended coverage to 1.5GHz using the 5^th harmonic of the PLL max frequency with reduced but still usable range.  The new 3.4 version board has changes that include better RF shielding. increased RF output level, frequency stability <0.5ppm, new CPU, and larger 1950maH battery with improved charging.  Uses a USB Type C connector for charging and data communication to a smartphone or computer.

 

I had been sitting on the fence to acquire one of these for a long time primarily because it did not cover 1296 where I have and will be spending more time on antennas.  A few days ago I took another look and noticed they recently released the V3.4 2.8 and 4” version to the market.  It is around $60 for the 4” on Alibaba with free shipping, or you can get it now on Amazon prime in 2 days for $83 (2.8”0 and $120 (4”).

 

Yesterday I received the 4” version NanoVNA-H4.  It came nicely packaged in a soft foam lined rigid reusable box with 2x 6” RG316 SMA-SMA cables and the 3 standard OSL terminations, a SMA F-F barrel (thru) adapter, a menu navigation block diagram, a link to the NanoVNA main info website ,a case tether strap, a short USB-C to USB C cable for connection to a smartphone, and a Type A USB to Type C long charging/Data cable. It had a Jan 1, 2020 build date using the hugen79 branch, one of the 3 main builds I spotted so far for NanoVNA, and the one specifically deveoped for this new version hardware.  Jan 18^th a new build of firmware was released and another coming soon to fix an issue with it locking up when you set a center frequency above 1Ghz. If this happens you can power cycle to return to normal,  Use start and stop rather than center to work around this for now. It is already fixed in another branch’s build as of Feb 2. 

 

One of the concerns is what device are you buying, a clone or the real thing. I purchased from Amazon the AURSINC Vector Network Analyzer 50KHz-1.5GHz.  Being very recently released I do not think the clones of this model have had time to show up yet, and the photos and text seemed legit so I bit. Looking at the device packaging, paperwork, PCB and the one small case clearance issue, it appears to match the Alibaba original listing and Hugen79’s own description and seems like the real thing to me. The firmware upgrade also worked as expected.  There is another build of this running in parallel but uses a different BIOS and is more targeted to developers for now but promises to expand future capabilites.  BTW the “-H” designation identifies the hugen79 hardware variation from the original edy555 hardware design.  The H4 is a 4” version.

 

I ran it through several tests on a commercial 2M 116-174Mhz 75W filter, the SG-Labs 1296 PCB 2 element yagi, dummy loads, various length of cables and it seems to work as expected.  I also downloaded and used the NanVNA-Saver V2.2-1 PC program.  All works well there also.  The NanoSaver has a lot more real estate so separates charts with configurable sweeps, trace widths, and colors so it can give you a cleaner results display.  Additionally it can perform multiple sweeps and average the results. SWR, TDR, and all the usual paramaters are shown for each marker. For the cables I tested the TDR function and it worked well also. I have a Samsung Galaxy S10 so has a USB C connector. I used the supplied short USB cable and ran the NanoVNA Web App on my phone and that worked well also. Again, more display real estate, clearer charts.

 

There is a known issue with touch screen clearance on front case section. You may experience random menu operation.  It is due to the lack of clearance between the right edge of the display case cutout and the touch screen. This can happen due to variable air gap between the LCD base and the PCB and case flexing/warpage, or if you squeeze the case on the right side. I worked around this by slightly warping the case along the right side display edge outward a bit and then holding the unit by the edges while in use. Some put tape on the far right edge of the screen as a spacer.  The suggested fix is small thin plastic washers on each case screw between the case halves a tiny bit. No doubt future case production will be adjusted. Was an easy fix once I figured out the problem.

 

Hugen79 released a new build on Jan 18, 2020.  I installed that and all works fine still.  It is easy to do once you fine the right tool. I tried the most commonly suggested method using a command line tool called dfu-util.  It was able to see the VNA USB parameters but it claimed it was not in DFU mode. The latest buld lets you go into DFU mode (a boostloader mode to update firmware) easily, just power off, press and hold the switch paddle in, turn the power on, and let go.  The screen will be black but you will hear/see the USB device enable on your PC.  You can see the device as the “STM Device in DFU Mode” in device manager under USB controllers.  Some procedures suggest you run Zadig to install a Libusb driver which I did. I used the LibUSBk version. Not finding a way to make dfu-util work, I found DfuSe_Demo V3.06 from ST Microelectronics.  It is a GUI based version of the tool and it worked no problem and easiler as well.

 

I have seen web posts were some folks are attempting to use the changes in hardware version 3.4 to update their pre 3.4 devices, particularly in the shielding area, some changing out resistor values and lowering noise by adding more caps inside.

 

The NanoVNA-H4 arrived with the battery fully charged according to the on screen indicator.  I plugged it in to ensure it was topped off.  I used it for quite some time runnign on the battery and it still showed full.  I believe the previous version batteries were 450-650mAH, at least for the 2.8 versions. This one at 1950mAH give a long operating time.

 

Software mentioned:

Zadig.exe

Libusb driver

NanoVNA-H firmware dated January 18, 2020 V4.0.4.5-12-gea578a2

NanoVNA-Saver.exe

NanoVNA Web App for Android, maybe iOS also.

Dfu-util.exe (did not work for me)

Dfu_Se Demo V3.06.exe (worked well)

 

In conclusion, for me this was worth hopping off the fence and is a great value covering the all the HF through 1296 bands.

 

Mike Lewis

K7MDL

CN88sf and EL87sm

 

 

 

[Stephen Kangas]

Wow, great review, Mike, thanks! 

 

I’ve ordered a lot of stuff from Alibaba (Aliexpress.com) over the past several years and don’t recall having any problems (other than up to two months shipping occasionally).  I purchased a tiny Bluetooth connected NanoVNA from them abt 5 yrs ago that works great analyzing my HF wire antenna designs right at the feedpoint when I have them hoisted up to operating height, watching on an Android app displayed on either my tablet or phone on the ground.  SO…I just ordered the H4 from Ali; they displayed delivery by 2 Mar, we’ll see about that, but being the tightwad I am it’s worth waiting for only $39.

 

Stephen W9SK

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