01
Start here
How to calibrate a NanoVNA: open, short and load
Calibrate your NanoVNA at the cable end, check the result with a known load and learn when to repeat calibration for S11 and S21 measurements.
Read the guide
Measure · understand · apply
Learn to use your NanoVNA
Practical English guides for radio amateurs. Calibrate your analyser, measure antennas and filters, and understand what the traces mean. Free to read, without an account.
- 4
- free guides
- A18
- VERON The Hague
- ∞
- room to experiment
NANOVNA // S11READY
M1 145.500 MHz
SWR 1.08
SWR 1.08
START 140.000 MHzSTOP 150.000 MHz
Understand your measurements
From a trace on a screen to a useful measurement
A NanoVNA measures how a radio-frequency signal is reflected by a load (S11) or transmitted through a device (S21). These measurements help you investigate antenna matching, impedance and filter response.
Our guides connect the numbers with practical decisions: where to calibrate, which trace to select and how to recognise a misleading result.
Choose your next measurement
Four guides to get you started
Begin with calibration, then explore antennas, impedance or filters. Each guide explains the setup, the result and the limits of the measurement.
02
Antennas
How to measure antenna SWR with a NanoVNA
Measure antenna SWR with a NanoVNA, choose the calibration plane and distinguish a good impedance match from resonance and antenna efficiency.
Read the guide03
Impedance
How to read a NanoVNA Smith chart
Understand resistance, reactance and the 50-ohm centre of a NanoVNA Smith chart, with worked examples and an explanation of cable effects.
Read the guide04
Filters
Measuring filters with a NanoVNA: S21 and insertion loss
Set up an S21 filter measurement, calibrate the through connection and read insertion loss, bandwidth and stopband attenuation on a NanoVNA.
Read the guideLearning by doing
See reflection and phase in motion
Change the load and measurement plane in our public demonstration. See how forward and reflected waves relate to the values on your NanoVNA.
Looking for lessons in person? VERON A18 also offers a practical course in Dutch. The course and its books are Dutch-language; these English guides are freely accessible.