Welcome to nanovna-users. This group is intended as a discussion forum for users of nanovna small VNA devices. A co-moderator will be needed (please contact if you'd like to participate.)
My NanoVNA was ordered May 18, 2019 and delivered (US) June 3, 2019. ebay seller was "vrg5612" (selected with no particular research) and price paid was US$ 85.21 shipped. I have near-beginner-level experience with HP 8753 series.
Included:
Translucent plastic carry box (might be sufficient to carry it around.)
NanoVNA unit (has transparent plastic peel-off screen protector.)
Two ~30cm SMA M-M patch cables (appear to be LMR100 or similar size coax, fairly flexible.)
SMA-M open, short and load; SMA F-F adapter (all are "standard" SMA, not RP type.)
USB-C cable
No documentation nor software.
Physical observations:
1. The "enclosure" is not a full enclosure - the sides are exposed; only a top, bottom and middle layer cover exists between the circuitry and the outside world. Major disappointment.
2. The thumbwheel switch (upper right corner) is very very poor quality and may not survive normal use. Fortunately, it seems like it isn't often necessary to use, but not sure if unit remains usable if the switch fails. Major disappointment.
3. Handy size and definitely usable without a PC (I haven't tried attaching PC yet.) If it works suitably, will meet my need for a quick tool for non-critical measurements within it's limitations.
Start-up/first use observations:
0. Plug it into a USB charger immediately. Not sure if the battery had an initial charge. Started it after sitting on charger for a few minutes. No idea about battery life yet, but kept going for some minutes after I unplugged the cable. Haven't tried connecting to a PC yet.
1. Boots in a bit over 1 second from power switch on to an initial default start state (50 kHz - 900 MHz sweep, all 4 trace colors enabled - first order of business is to disable the unneeded traces as the screen is very busy otherwise.) Pleased about boot time (although it probably does little if any self-testing, and I saw no menus that lead to any sort of self-testing.)
2. Screen intensity, resolution and size are adequate for my needs (size any smaller and I'd regret it.)
3. Touch screen navigation works sufficiently so far. Slightly small for my fingers, but I'll probably get used to it (I hate typing on my cell phone but I survive, after a fashion.) Menu (upper right corner touch) and direct numeric input (lower right corner touch) activation areas and buttons are large enough. The numeric input screen has no method for minus sign input (i.e., reference value = -20 dB wasn't possible, still puzzling over this one). I *think* the screen buttons are also time sensitive (short vs long press) but not sure yet (sometimes a menu disappears, other times is transitions to the next menu; seems likely this is just a "get used to it" situation to figure out what the author intended.)
4. Menu hierarchy is loosely patterned in some areas after HP 8753 (in a few cases very similar). During first-hour so navigation (with the non-supplied documentation) navigation was sufficiently "figure-outable" to examine a SAW filter I'm playing with right now. Some trial-and-error was necessary but within the first hour I was making an uncalibrated measurement (haven't tried calibration yet). Discovered (fortunately) that the (expect to be cursed) thumbwheel seems unessential, at least so far. The 8753-inspired (generous term) menu system was a relief to see as it did speed up the learning curve.
5. I was looking for something analogous to the HP 8753 "preset" button to quickly return to a default state. Found nothing. Turning off and on (slide switch; no apparent menu entry for this) has the same effect. Don't know if any data can be preserved across a reset (didn't try).
Summary first thoughts - $86 (I've since seen some cheaper offers) was OK price for the item received (I wouldn't have paid much more than this). My only significant complaints at this point are the incomplete enclosure and the thumbwheel control. My biggest relief so far is that I am able to make some (uncalibrated) measurements similar (enough) to the HP 8753, so it is probably going to be useful for the purpose intended (quick go-to device when I don't want to power up the HP and don't want to be tethered to a PC, tablet or power supply such as with VNWA or similar.) I saw screenshot of associated PC software (somewhere, on one of the ebay pages offering this device) and the screen text was all Mandarin.
Other note - the github page for nanovna doesn't appear to have a windows (or better, linux) binary for this device, and I'm not sure if the (python) scripts there apply to this device. Not sure at this point how this device and the github page project are related.
Thank you for your interest in this device, and I look forward to reading other user experiences, observations and questions.
Dave
(PS if you are interested in being a co-moderator, please let me know.)
Dave
