My VNA is not a superlative piece of high-end instrumentation that cost the GDP of a small country, it’s the popular $50 NanoVNA that has a fairly modest frequency range and performance, but is still a functional VNA that can take useful measurements. That instrument is a Vector Network Analyser, or VNA, and it’s worth spending a while going through the basics in case anyone else is in the same position. My new experience came when I bought a piece of test equipment, and for the first time in my life didn’t have a clue how to use it. I have a good idea what it does, and I can figure out whatever its interface may be to make it do what I want it to. I probably received my first piece of test equipment – a multimeter – in the early 1980s, and since then every time I’ve received a new one, whether an oscilloscope, logic analyser, spectrum analyser or signal generator, I’ve been able to figure out how to use it. It’s never too late in life for new experiences, but there’s a new experience I had a few weeks ago that I wasn’t expecting.

Nanovna analyzer