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I bought my NanoVNA back in 2019, as I recall, from Amazon for about $50.00. I am guessing this was about the time there was a proliferation of clones in the marketplace. I purchased it mainly to sweep my HF antennas to determine SWR. Once my current HF antenna was erected and I was satisfied with it's SWR plot, the VNA went in the drawer in a nice small Pelican case and there it rested from its labors.
I was reading eHam reviews a few days ago and saw one for the NanoVNAs. I read the nice review and then clicked the link to get here. As I started reading about this marvelous little device, I realized I had purchased a "worse clone". As you can see from the photos attached, there is no CH0 on the front and no shielding inside the unit. I also noticed that the battery has bulged a little as seen in the side view photograph. It also has the green LEDs for the power on and battery charge indication. It also has only two trace channels.
I decided to use it to see how far off it really is. Sweeping some known antennas, I am convinced that the absence of shielding affects the units accuracy in the VHF and UHF range. Yes, I did calibrate it and set the start and stop frequencies appropriately.
I could manage the shielding mod but I am more concerned about the lithium battery being bulged and possibly rupturing during charging, potentially causing a fire. I really like the smaller size unit and don't see a huge advantage of upgrading to the 4" style. I checked the R and L website and see they sell the 2.8" screen unit for close to what I paid for my clone. Are they selling one of the "good" units?
If anyone is interested, I would sell my NanoVNA as an experimental, parts, or fixer-upper at a nominal price. USPS small flat rate potage is about $7.00. Make me an offer. I just don't want to see this end up in an electronic recycle plant if someone can make use of it.
Thank you.
Bob, N7GTE
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Hi Bob,
If the battery has started to expand, remove the back cover of the Nano and remove and recycle it. As for the Nano, it can be powered from a 5v power bank, USB or you can install an aftermarket battery.
Early reports from a number of forum members said there was not that much difference between having the shields or not having. Besides, if you look at my early posts, I too, bought one with no shields and added some from scrap 2way radios.
If you want to get rid of it, why not donate it to your local Ham club with the condition that teach members all about it.
Just say'in..
73
Larry
On Mon., 9 Aug. 2021 at 6:43 p.m., Robert Craven via groups.io<n7gte@...> wrote: I bought my NanoVNA back in 2019, as I recall, from Amazon for about $50.00. I am guessing this was about the time there was a proliferation of clones in the marketplace. I purchased it mainly to sweep my HF antennas to determine SWR. Once my current HF antenna was erected and I was satisfied with it's SWR plot, the VNA went in the drawer in a nice small Pelican case and there it rested from its labors.
I was reading eHam reviews a few days ago and saw one for the NanoVNAs. I read the nice review and then clicked the link to get here. As I started reading about this marvelous little device, I realized I had purchased a "worse clone". As you can see from the photos attached, there is no CH0 on the front and no shielding inside the unit. I also noticed that the battery has bulged a little as seen in the side view photograph. It also has the green LEDs for the power on and battery charge indication. It also has only two trace channels.
I decided to use it to see how far off it really is. Sweeping some known antennas, I am convinced that the absence of shielding affects the units accuracy in the VHF and UHF range. Yes, I did calibrate it and set the start and stop frequencies appropriately.
I could manage the shielding mod but I am more concerned about the lithium battery being bulged and possibly rupturing during charging, potentially causing a fire. I really like the smaller size unit and don't see a huge advantage of upgrading to the 4" style. I checked the R and L website and see they sell the 2.8" screen unit for close to what I paid for my clone. Are they selling one of the "good" units?
If anyone is interested, I would sell my NanoVNA as an experimental, parts, or fixer-upper at a nominal price. USPS small flat rate potage is about $7.00. Make me an offer. I just don't want to see this end up in an electronic recycle plant if someone can make use of it.
Thank you.
Bob, N7GTE
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Looks like you never even took the protective film off the display. 8*)
I'd remove the battery before you ship it anywhere.
73, Willie N1JBJ
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On Aug 9, 2021, at 6:56 PM, Larry Rothman <nlroth@...> wrote:
Hi Bob,
If the battery has started to expand, remove the back cover of the Nano and remove and recycle it. As for the Nano, it can be powered from a 5v power bank, USB or you can install an aftermarket battery.
Early reports from a number of forum members said there was not that much difference between having the shields or not having. Besides, if you look at my early posts, I too, bought one with no shields and added some from scrap 2way radios.
If you want to get rid of it, why not donate it to your local Ham club with the condition that teach members all about it.
Just say'in..
73
Larry
On Mon., 9 Aug. 2021 at 6:43 p.m., Robert Craven via groups.io<n7gte@...> wrote: I bought my NanoVNA back in 2019, as I recall, from Amazon for about $50.00. I am guessing this was about the time there was a proliferation of clones in the marketplace. I purchased it mainly to sweep my HF antennas to determine SWR. Once my current HF antenna was erected and I was satisfied with it's SWR plot, the VNA went in the drawer in a nice small Pelican case and there it rested from its labors.
I was reading eHam reviews a few days ago and saw one for the NanoVNAs. I read the nice review and then clicked the link to get here. As I started reading about this marvelous little device, I realized I had purchased a "worse clone". As you can see from the photos attached, there is no CH0 on the front and no shielding inside the unit. I also noticed that the battery has bulged a little as seen in the side view photograph. It also has the green LEDs for the power on and battery charge indication. It also has only two trace channels.
I decided to use it to see how far off it really is. Sweeping some known antennas, I am convinced that the absence of shielding affects the units accuracy in the VHF and UHF range. Yes, I did calibrate it and set the start and stop frequencies appropriately.
I could manage the shielding mod but I am more concerned about the lithium battery being bulged and possibly rupturing during charging, potentially causing a fire. I really like the smaller size unit and don't see a huge advantage of upgrading to the 4" style. I checked the R and L website and see they sell the 2.8" screen unit for close to what I paid for my clone. Are they selling one of the "good" units?
If anyone is interested, I would sell my NanoVNA as an experimental, parts, or fixer-upper at a nominal price. USPS small flat rate potage is about $7.00. Make me an offer. I just don't want to see this end up in an electronic recycle plant if someone can make use of it.
Thank you.
Bob, N7GTE
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Two things, if that were mine, I’d be wanting to remove the battery ASAP before it damages the LCD touch screen, if you look carefully you can see the display board starting to bend, as well as the back board/rear case part.
Also, it would not be a good idea to ship the unit with the battery, as should the battery fail in shipment (and you’d hope it’s not carried by air) it could cause big problems.
I work in radio Comms and we ship items including batteries, we would be sending failed lithium batteries to a suitable recycling centre, via a suitable carrier.
My 2c worth.
73 Tim VK4TIM.
Sent from my Iphone.
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On 10 Aug 2021, at 08:43, Robert Craven via groups.io <n7gte@...> wrote:
I bought my NanoVNA back in 2019, as I recall, from Amazon for about $50.00. I am guessing this was about the time there was a proliferation of clones in the marketplace. I purchased it mainly to sweep my HF antennas to determine SWR. Once my current HF antenna was erected and I was satisfied with it's SWR plot, the VNA went in the drawer in a nice small Pelican case and there it rested from its labors.
I was reading eHam reviews a few days ago and saw one for the NanoVNAs. I read the nice review and then clicked the link to get here. As I started reading about this marvelous little device, I realized I had purchased a "worse clone". As you can see from the photos attached, there is no CH0 on the front and no shielding inside the unit. I also noticed that the battery has bulged a little as seen in the side view photograph. It also has the green LEDs for the power on and battery charge indication. It also has only two trace channels.
I decided to use it to see how far off it really is. Sweeping some known antennas, I am convinced that the absence of shielding affects the units accuracy in the VHF and UHF range. Yes, I did calibrate it and set the start and stop frequencies appropriately.
I could manage the shielding mod but I am more concerned about the lithium battery being bulged and possibly rupturing during charging, potentially causing a fire. I really like the smaller size unit and don't see a huge advantage of upgrading to the 4" style. I checked the R and L website and see they sell the 2.8" screen unit for close to what I paid for my clone. Are they selling one of the "good" units?
If anyone is interested, I would sell my NanoVNA as an experimental, parts, or fixer-upper at a nominal price. USPS small flat rate potage is about $7.00. Make me an offer. I just don't want to see this end up in an electronic recycle plant if someone can make use of it.
Thank you.
Bob, N7GTE
<NanoVNA no shield view.jpg>
<NanoVNA bowed back.jpg>
<NanoVNA front.jpg>
<NanoVNA back.jpg>
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To ass to what others have wrote if you intend to store one of these for an extended period of time without use you should either periodically maintenance charge it or disconnect the battery. There is a very small residual current drain when the unit is off that is enough to discharge the battery over time. Lithium based batteries do not like to be deep discharged and left in that condition. Once is enough to damage or even kill the battery. I'm not the kind of person that believes in over regulation but IMO "there oughta be a law" that every battery powered device should have a hard power off switch or easily accessible battery disconnect. I have few bad iPod batteries to attest to that. And that reminds me, I it's probably time I should charge mine... 73 -Jim NU0C On Mon, 09 Aug 2021 14:54:41 -0700 "Robert Craven via groups.io" <n7gte@...> wrote: I also noticed that the battery has bulged a little as seen in the side view photograph.
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AFAIK R&L sell only the units manufactured by Hugen so you should be safe. Get the 4" version, there are other benefits besides the larger screen. On Tue, 10 Aug 2021 at 00:43, Robert Craven via groups.io <n7gte= yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote: I bought my NanoVNA back in 2019, as I recall, from Amazon for about
$50.00. I am guessing this was about the time there was a proliferation of
clones in the marketplace. I purchased it mainly to sweep my HF antennas
to determine SWR. Once my current HF antenna was erected and I was
satisfied with it's SWR plot, the VNA went in the drawer in a nice small
Pelican case and there it rested from its labors.
I was reading eHam reviews a few days ago and saw one for the NanoVNAs. I
read the nice review and then clicked the link to get here. As I started
reading about this marvelous little device, I realized I had purchased a
"worse clone". As you can see from the photos attached, there is no CH0 on
the front and no shielding inside the unit. I also noticed that the battery
has bulged a little as seen in the side view photograph. It also has the
green LEDs for the power on and battery charge indication. It also has only
two trace channels.
I decided to use it to see how far off it really is. Sweeping some known
antennas, I am convinced that the absence of shielding affects the units
accuracy in the VHF and UHF range. Yes, I did calibrate it and set the
start and stop frequencies appropriately.
I could manage the shielding mod but I am more concerned about the lithium
battery being bulged and possibly rupturing during charging, potentially
causing a fire. I really like the smaller size unit and don't see a huge
advantage of upgrading to the 4" style. I checked the R and L website and
see they sell the 2.8" screen unit for close to what I paid for my clone.
Are they selling one of the "good" units?
If anyone is interested, I would sell my NanoVNA as an experimental,
parts, or fixer-upper at a nominal price. USPS small flat rate potage is
about $7.00. Make me an offer. I just don't want to see this end up in an
electronic recycle plant if someone can make use of it.
Thank you.
Bob, N7GTE
|
Tim,
Thank you for your response. I have removed the battery. I took off the back and with a jewelers loupe, looked carefully at the junction of the back of the battery and the PCB. There is a black double stick tape securing the battery to the board. I used a new, single edge razor blade and carefully pushed the blade through the tape being extremely careful not to push it too hard or too far. I was then able to life the battery off the PCB. I then "rolled" the black tape residue off with my thumb. The battery has 201909 printed on it which I think is a date code for September 2019. I probably bought the unit after that date.
Since the battery connected to the PCB through a tiny Molex connector, I clipped the leads of the battery. one lead at a time and saved the connector with a bit of wire on it in case I can find a replacement battery.
You are correct, shipping the unit with the swollen battery is not a good idea. Our community has a hazardous material recycle day in October and will accept lithium ion batteries. Since the battery is out of service and the leads separated, I will carefully store the battery until I can turn it in to the recyclers.
I have included a photo of the PCB without the battery and for those that may be interested photos of the series 1010 Pelican case I store the unit in. One more photo shows the NanoVNA connected to a 5V cell phone battery extender and shows the unit can still operate portable until I replace the internal battery. Of course I can still power it from a computer.
Thanks to all the others that have responded to my post. I will continue to learn and use my unit for the time being. Does anyone know if this "worse clone" can be updated?
73, Bob, N7GTE
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Hi Bob, You asked if this 'worse clone' can be updated... Yes, it can, with a little patience. Have a look at my post from 2019: https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/message/223I had essentially, the same board as you. I added RF shields from other scrap electronics and an SD card slot from an old Blackberry. I also used a cellphone battery to power the unit as many others have on this forum. I extended the back cover using 4 slightly longer threaded posts to accommodate the battery. If you're able to install the SD slot, you will be able to save flash memory, screen and touchstone file dumps to it. Another modification you can do if you're able to perform fine soldering and have a big magnifying glass and tweezers is to change the CH0 RF bridge resistors to match what's in Hugen's schematics for the V3.4 board. Also, add extra caps on the 3V line. See here: https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/wiki/Documentation . Again, I was able to find and re-use the right resistor values from boards in my junk box. Lastly, I added a 32KHz xtal from an old PC motherboard: https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/message/23632....or, you can sell it and buy a current version H4 from R&L as it's only $12 more than the H... It all depends on how much 'fun' you want to have! 73 Larry
On Tuesday, August 10, 2021, 12:33:21 a.m. EDT, Robert Craven via groups.io <n7gte@...> wrote:
Tim,
Thank you for your response. I have removed the battery. I took off the back and with a jewelers loupe, looked carefully at the junction of the back of the battery and the PCB. There is a black double stick tape securing the battery to the board. I used a new, single edge razor blade and carefully pushed the blade through the tape being extremely careful not to push it too hard or too far. I was then able to life the battery off the PCB. I then "rolled" the black tape residue off with my thumb. The battery has 201909 printed on it which I think is a date code for September 2019. I probably bought the unit after that date.
Since the battery connected to the PCB through a tiny Molex connector, I clipped the leads of the battery. one lead at a time and saved the connector with a bit of wire on it in case I can find a replacement battery.
You are correct, shipping the unit with the swollen battery is not a good idea. Our community has a hazardous material recycle day in October and will accept lithium ion batteries. Since the battery is out of service and the leads separated, I will carefully store the battery until I can turn it in to the recyclers.
I have included a photo of the PCB without the battery and for those that may be interested photos of the series 1010 Pelican case I store the unit in. One more photo shows the NanoVNA connected to a 5V cell phone battery extender and shows the unit can still operate portable until I replace the internal battery. Of course I can still power it from a computer.
Thanks to all the others that have responded to my post. I will continue to learn and use my unit for the time being. Does anyone know if this "worse clone" can be updated?
73, Bob, N7GTE
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On Tuesday, August 10, 2021, 7:55:52 a.m. EDT, Larry Rothman <nlroth@...> wrote: Hi Bob, You asked if this 'worse clone' can be updated... Yes, it can, with a little patience. Have a look at my post from 2019: https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/message/223I had essentially, the same board as you. I added RF shields from other scrap electronics and an SD card slot from an old Blackberry. I also used a cellphone battery to power the unit as many others have on this forum. I extended the back cover using 4 slightly longer threaded posts to accommodate the battery. If you're able to install the SD slot, you will be able to save flash memory, screen and touchstone file dumps to it. Another modification you can do if you're able to perform fine soldering and have a big magnifying glass and tweezers is to change the CH0 RF bridge resistors to match what's in Hugen's schematics for the V3.4 board. Also, add extra caps on the 3V line. See here: https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/wiki/Documentation . Again, I was able to find and re-use the right resistor values from boards in my junk box. Lastly, I added a 32KHz xtal from an old PC motherboard: https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/message/23632....or, you can sell it and buy a current version H4 from R&L as it's only $12 more than the H... It all depends on how much 'fun' you want to have! 73 Larry
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Larry,
Thank you for the information and the links. I plan to keep my “worse clone” and see what I can find in my junk box to upgrade it.
One last question for all reading this thread: Can these early clones accommodate any of the software/firmware updates?
Thank you.
Bob
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All the original Nanovna devices and the newer 'H' hardware up to rev 3.4.2 (Not the H4) use the same firmware. That means you can download and install Dislord's v1.0.69 'H' firmware on your device and it will work just fine after calibration. The FW is in the forum's files section: https://groups.io/g/nanovna-users/files/Dislord%27s%20Nanovna%20-H%20Firmware On Tue., 10 Aug. 2021 at 10:10 p.m., Robert Craven via groups.io<n7gte@...> wrote: Larry, Thank you for the information and the links. I plan to keep my “worse clone” and see what I can find in my junk box to upgrade it. One last question for all reading this thread: Can these early clones accommodate any of the software/firmware updates? Thank you. Bob
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On Tue, Aug 10, 2021 at 10:34 PM, Larry Rothman wrote:
One last question for all reading this thread: Can these early clones
accommodate any of the software/firmware updates?
Yes. I also have one of the early (Oct. 2019) cheap, unshielded clones. It has always worked fine, and I've upgraded firmware multiple times. But I bought a NanoVNA-F because the the little clone was pretty much unreadable outdoors. I keep it in a small "fanny pack" case, with adapters, cables and charging cord. (Then that little pack goes into my Harbor Freight "ammo box" case with the -F, a Mini60 analyzer and an MFJ-249 analyzer, charger and more cables and adapters.) -- Doug, K8RFT
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Jim Shorney
