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Low Cost VNA re-visited

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AndreyG

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Re-surveyed Low Cost Network Analyzers. Found nothing new compare to thread closed last year.
Below is summary with recent prices and short summary of parameters.
Can anyone add to it?
So far looks like buying 20 year old HP boxes on EBay is the most practical option
only surveying models above 3GHz frequency range. Since 2.4GHz ISM band most frequently requested.
ManufacturerModel Price (US$)Freq. rangeParameters measured:Dynamic rangefrequency Step/resolutionRf Power OutputSweep SpeedReferenceFeaturesComments
Mini Radio SolutionsmniVNA tiny5801-3000MHzS11, S21up to 70 dB10 Hz-6dBm at 500 Hzslowhttp://miniradiosolutions.com/54-2/Did not work for me. Could not calibrate had to return it.
LA TechniquesLA19-13-0375500.3 - 8192 MHzS11, S21, S12, S22120 dB10Hz - 20 kHz+10 dBm108ms for 20kHz bw**broken link removed**P1dB meas., Signal generator,
LA TechniquesLA19-13-0250603 - 3000 MHzS11, S21, S12, S2280 dB100Hz0 dBm6ms/point**broken link removed**
MegiQVNA-04403170400-40000MHzS11, S21, S12, S2275dB ?100kHz,+5 dBmhttp://www.megiq.com/plaatjes/specifications-vna0440-oct13.pdfDoes not work at VHF
Deepspace KC901s13000.1-3000MHzS11 vect., S21 scalar100dB (s21), 60dBm at 2- 3GHz1Hz+3 dBmhttp://www.deepace.net/kc901s-rf-multimeter/Measures spectrum as well. Named RF Multimeter
 

What's your threshold for low cost?

There are some good 1 port vector reflectometers if you can make do with that. Some of them can be used in pairs as scaler network analysers too.
 

Threshold for low cost - $1000 clearly unrealistic.
For antenna work system S11 needs to be in complex format, S21 can be scalar but large dinamic range is critical and interface to PC is critical
 

That Deepace KC901 looks about the closest to your requirement and pocket. I haven't heard any trustworthy reviews of it though. Looks pretty clunky though.

HP and Anritsu VNA's seem to be hugely expensive on ebay. I bet you could get a better deal buying new.

I think people mentioned the Copper Mountain VNAs in the old thread. These are excellent. Also the new Anritsu Shockline units are pretty good too and I think they are lot cheaper than many of the vintage units on ebay.

I think $1K is a pretty challenging budget for to get the dynamic range you need. If you had closer to $7 or $8K you would have some really good options.
 

Your budget is $1000 but LA-19-13-03 from your list cost $10500 ?! And VNA 0440 is $4000.
 

>> Your budget is $1000 but LA-19-13-03 from your list cost $10500 ?! And VNA 0440 is $4000.
Yes, and the only device I found below $1000 I found it unusable. So I keep looking :)
BTW LA-19-13-03 - $7550 not $10500. Looks like nice machine for the price. If I would not have NA already I would seriously consider buying one.
 

@vfone I'm not sure I understand your point. Are you saying you dont believe the performance claims? Obviously the top of the range models are way beyond the OPs definition if cheap though.
 

$2k/GHz for a full featured VNA with decent specs and 1Hz resolution is a bargain. I've used ones worth $16k/GHz up to 6GHz 15 yrs ago.

Shipping and Calibration costs I think would exceed this budget requirement of a used $0.33k / GHz VNA.

But then for $100 you can sweep with quadrature directional couplers and roll your own with a log amp or RSSI Rx chip.
 

I found another device, called GRATTEN, comes directly from China, looks like modern NA (color multi-windows screen shown :), to 3GHz, 12k
**broken link removed**

I do not know ...
 

vfone said:
$22,495 for a no-name box with two N connectors, whatever performances they claim?
Click to expand...
Copper mountain is a fairly reputable brand, from what I've seen. They used to be substantially cheaper, but in recent years it seems they've realized their value, and have started making higher end models. Not to say they used to be "cheap" or had quality issues, but they targeted a lower end market.
 

vfone said:
$22,495 for a no-name box with two N connectors, whatever performances they claim?
I think these guys they sell something else in parallel to get the paycheck.
Click to expand...

i dont kw more about them. i just saw a add in mwf.
 

it is a shame you can not get a good 6 GHz VNA for around $2000 usd. There really is not much inside of one nowadays. we are all just being raped
 

You could add this one: http://pocketvna.com/
Not sure about the performance but in terms of $ per GHz it seems to be quite competitive.
 
Aynone tried **broken link removed** yet?
Needs a windows PC to run.
 

Thank you for keeping this thread alive adding information to it. PocketVNA looks intriguing.
 

One more vote for Copper Mountain Technologies. I have tested the R54 which only costs USD3000 and works up to 5.4 GHz, and it works nicely. It's only a 1-port though...

**broken link removed**


Aaron
 

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