Radio Frequency (RF) & Wireless Design

Created by Steven Minichiello on 27 April, 2018

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Using the low cost nanVNA is a great way for finding out if you have a FAKE antenna !

Steven Minichiello
Steven Minichiello
28 Feb, 2021 09:45 PM

The nanoVNAs that available for about $100 are readily available with the latest ones up to 3 GHz for Bluetooth and the best ones at up to 6 GHz for WiFi. These are designed with (2) ports such that you can test not just coax and antennas, but also any reactive device with capacitance and inductance.


Personally I prefer the single port version called the mini1300 which is designed with more software for antennas, but either will do.


In this video he is testing a Diamond 'premium' brand that turns out to be a FAKE from China and showcases why a fake antenna can hurt your radio and cost you a lot of money :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-3ocLuAZtE



 
Steven Minichiello
Steven Minichiello
Feb 28, 2021

Here's another test of two antennas; one real and one FAKE :

https://www.miklor.com/COM/Compare-NA701-Fake.php


I really laughed out loud about his comment on the antenna :

"What I immediately discovered was the difference between a real Nagoya and a fake. The bargain antenna wasn't quite on frequency. In fact, it only had one notch that was perfectly tuned for 368MHz, which would be perfect if I wanted to open garage doors."

 
Steven Minichiello
Steven Minichiello
Feb 28, 2021

In this videos from Fred in the Shed he compares the most prolific FAKE antennas branded Nagoya  used on the cheap Baofeng transceivers the FAKE antenna is "dangerously high" at over 8 to 1 VSWR :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGlHKfFlbvY


here's another Fred in the Shed review on another FAKE antenna :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1BQJI7K69A


in this one the nanoVNA antenna again finds the differences in the FAKE to the real antenna :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPndN-hO13k



 
Steven Minichiello
Steven Minichiello
Feb 28, 2021

And this is what a good Yaesu dual band antenna looks like on the nanoVNA but also showcases a FAKE Yaesu tri-band antenna : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL-7WEHupHo



 
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