Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: mRS miniVNA 0.1-180Mhz

Category: Antenna Analyzers

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : mRS miniVNA 0.1-180Mhz
Reviews: 30MSRP: 315 or 240 Euro
Description:
* Frequency coverage 0.1Mhz to 180MHz
* DDS Generator with 0 dBm output
* 2 Ports allow Transmission Measurements e.g. filters, traps
* USB1.1 and USB2 compatibility
* RS232 optional socket for Pocket PC`s or Remote Displays
* Fast Scan (typical 0.6 sec for 500 points)
* Use of an internal Industrial Directional Coupler
* High Reflection Dynamic Range 40dB to 35dB (VSWR 1.06:1 or better)
* Wide Transmission Dynamic Range > 50-55dB
* Measures VSWR, RL, Rs, Z +/-jx, Phase, Cable lenght, R/L/C
* Finds Minimum VSWR automatically
* New transparent box with LED indicators for the operation status
* In-Circuit-Programming for future firmware onboard CPU upgrades
* Operation from 3.6V Phone Batteries possible (current drawn <150mA)
* Software compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems.
* Save and Load of previous measurements
* Software for Pocket PC available
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.miniradiosolutions.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00304
M0KTY Rating: 2016-02-09
mIniVNA repaired Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Since my last post, The engineers at Martin Lynch have managed to repair the VNA!
Well done to them at ML&Sons especially Martin himself for the incredible customer support.
So far on initial testing, everything seems in order.
Time will tell.
W3ACO Rating: 2014-12-27
failure prone Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is my third review . After a year, unit became in op again. Tried to get repair from italian ham who built it but no reply after several e mails. Sent it to a Polish ham who said he would repair it. It is still in Poland. Now Ive spent $400 plus shipping to Europe twice and have no analyzer! I need a two port analyzer to tune filters. Next I will buy an SDR kits unit. hopefully it will be more reliable and if I need it service will be better.
K0KL Rating: 2013-11-20
Good with reservations Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This device is as handy as a Swiss army knife. Measurements are accurate for the average ham. Very portable, use mine all the time. Having said that there is one issue, a big issue as far as I am concerned. No support My unit developed the "bad connection" to BNC connector problem. I emailed the US vendor, still waiting a response. It seems a common thread with this VNA company.
I know I had read the defense not wanting to talk to older hams etc, etc. I am a retired professional. I don't need a half baked blame me for a company's poor performance.
If the unit was constructed from a QST article, I would know I'm on my own. But paying $100 more in the US than sold in Europe seems like I should at least get the courtesy of a return email. At least telling me there is no support, etc. VERY unprofessional.
It's a shame, this is a nice unit that should give a long life but the non existant support is troubling.
EI3GD Rating: 2013-04-06
Very handy Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Decided on the MiniVNA over the MFJ portable version.
Best decision I've made in a while. The MiniVNA is very versatile and CAN be used with an iPad. Just download Teamviewer app and you can have your PC desktop on the iPad, from there it's simple to use the miniVNA remotely.
The is also third party software for the miniVNA that is easy to use and works a treat.
Readings can be saved and plotted to PDF or JPG for reference or explaining issues on forums.
Antenna tuning is a delight when you can see the whole band.
And if you need reactance, return loss, distance to fault, cable length measurement, cable impedance measurement etc then it's all in one box.

Highly recommended to antenna builders.

73's
Ray
VA7ION Rating: 2012-12-15
does the job Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought it many years ago. Highly recommend you "transplant" the device in an aluminum enclosure; I assume the bad rep comes from the inability of the plastic box it comes mounted in, to keep the rf out, and the digital noise in. I live close by to an AM station, and before the "transplant" it was basically useless by been overwhelmed by noise: could not do a decent measurement. Same with the incredible strong digital noise coming out of the box, so unless you shield it in a new aluminum enclosure, don't expect any decent performance. Software is good, and the product does what's expected to do. I would rate it 2 if left in the plastic box, and a 5 if you decide to take the time and make an aluminum enclosure.
G6UWK Rating: 2012-11-18
does the job Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
My MiniVNA has opened up a new world to me, the parameters available to see and the effects being visible has certainly piqued my enthusiasm and desire to learn more.

Others have said that the manual is rubbish. Well I notice that the latest version is 126 pages long with lots of screen dumps showing the points described.

When I bought my MiniVNA it was the same price as the MFJ-259B and I personally felt that the lack of portability was more than made up for with the information and detail that the unit could provide.

In its simplest form it is nice to do a check on antennas from the shack to see if they deteriorate over time. At it's best it gives a very detailed set of information which I am slowly starting to get my head round.

I would suggest buying a short bnc-bnc 50 ohm patch lead for calibration. It would be nice to have calibrated test plugs as well but if you want to do this it is not that difficult.

It makes the SWR meter if not redundant then just an object to see needles moving as you talk.

Jon
G6UWK
NA6MA Rating: 2011-09-20
Useful instrument, inadequate manual Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased the instrument approximately 1 year ago. It is a useful device and allows me perform various measurements.
Unfortunately, the user manual is marginal at best. I like good and detailed user manuals. This one is not. Possibly, the reason for the inadequate manual is that it was written by the developer of the miniVNA who is very familiar with the device and assumes that users are just as familiar.
Also, the company fails to reply to user’s questions. I submitted two questions and never received an answer. This is the main reason for my 3 rating. A better manual would have earned a 5 rating.
For the price, they should have better manual and support.
Îëåã Àøìàðîâ Rating: 2011-08-30
Unsupported junk... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I got "PRO" version for x-mas last year. wasn't able to make it work at all on XP sp3 machine. Support nonexistent, software... alpha releases at best, not acceptable for commercial product with quite high price tag. Bottom line, I just smacked damn thing against the brick wall. BTW feel much much better now...:-D
KE7SA Rating: 2011-05-30
The new miniVNA Pro with the SMA connectors Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just got back from Dayton Hamvention a few days ago and unpacked my treasures. The miniVNA Pro was the first to check out. If you're new to what a VMA is or does, I recommend you study up on that first as the user's guide is a little vague and assumes you have used one before. Being a retired professional RF engineer used to working with top end lab and field equipment, I am very impressed. Install the drivers and the software, plug it in, set the COM port and the device model and then calibrate via the window in three button pushes. Then save the calibration setting to a file. Took a test drive for about an hour to understand the software and how it works. I've spent the last day or so measuring every antenna and feed line I have. Quickly found my tri-band beam needs a tweak and found two less than good coax cables to the VHF-UHF radio antenna. I had used a borrowed MFJ-269B but the readings were not repeatable and did not have a sweep function. Measurements are now repeatable with the miniVNA. At the time of purchase, there were only 3 units left, in 1 minute they were all sold and I got the last one. That was a close call. Looking forward to the Expander that will take the VNA to 1.5 GHz. They said that it should be available this fall. It's already on my list. Now on to test some filters and RF beads and torroids for a project. I highly recommend this product.
G8NLY Rating: 2011-02-07
Brilliant! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Made sure I got a decent [class 1] bluetooth dongle for remote use [antennas 15m from shack, wanted to remove cable effects from the measurements], this is a great little VNA. Took my time [half an hour!] to learn the basics, I am finding it a nice piece of test equipment, with a good battery life!
I am also using this as a signal source [up to 0 dBm] very reliable, stable and repeatable for frequency and power output in this mode.
Worth the short amount of time needed to learn to use it properly