I decided to pick up a VNA to supplement/replace my existing SWR meter. My eyes aren’t what they used to be, and figuring out exactly where those two little meter lines crossed was getting pretty difficult. The NanoVNA is an awesome little device, I’ve got to say. Connecting it to my laptop and running NanoVNA-Saver has really upped my game in terms of understanding the performance of my antennae. It definitely comes with a learning curve though.

I built a roll-up J-pole antenna a decade ago, and never got good results with it. Now I know why! I don’t seem to have followed the plans very closely, and at the time I didn’t have enough understanding to know why things were the way they were. Now that I’ve had a chance to analyze it more accurately and thoroughly, I can see that the performance is abysmal on both 2m and 70cm.

I can’t wait to analyze the rest of my antennae, and use this handy little device to help me build better ones in the future.