[TowerTalk] What Insertion Testing Devices Are Out There?

[Jim Brown]

On Mon,8/25/2014 8:47 AM, Stephen Davis wrote:
>   Short of an HP Net. Analyzer,   $ 40,000 category,  what do you read about, hear about, or have for
> such devices that are good for the ham service (testing cable, connectors, other devices)  at various freq's up to perhaps  10 GHz  ?

Not 10 GHz, but the VNWA built and sold by a ham in the UK and designed 
by a prof at a German university goes to 1.3 GHz. It's a small box with 
the RF circuitry and a USB interface to a computer that also powers from 
the USB. Two years ago, the 3E version cost me $700 with the SMA 
calibration kit, delivered to my door.  A real winner!  It also does TDR 
by transforming a frequency sweep. Generates data in standard format for 
import into analysis software like Sim Smith.

http://sdr-kits.net/VNWA3_Description.html

There's a good yahoo group, with active participation by the designer, 
DG8SAQ, who also authored both firmware and control software, and by the 
UK ham who sells them. Both firmware and software are stable, but also 
continue to be developed to add features. Last I heard there's now a 
Linux version.

Software is a free download, and runs without a connection to the 
hardware. The manual is a 300+ page pdf.

73, Jim K9YC