vna/J 3.3.

x
User guide
Dietmar Krause

DL2SBA

Hindenburgstraße 29

D-70794 Filderstadt

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 Friday, 1. November 2019

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1 TABLE OF CONTENTS
2 Changes .......................................................................................................................................... 5
3 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 8
4 Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 9
5 Quick-Start-Guide (Windows/OS X).............................................................................................. 11
6 GUI ................................................................................................................................................ 13
6.1 The image panel ................................................................................................................... 14
6.1.1 Scales ............................................................................................................................... 15
6.1.2 Saving measured data ..................................................................................................... 21
6.1.3 Display Smith-chart.......................................................................................................... 22
6.1.4 Reference data ................................................................................................................ 25
6.1.5 Port extension.................................................................................................................. 27
6.2 Marker panel ........................................................................................................................ 28
6.2.1 Operations ....................................................................................................................... 29
6.2.2 Marker-math dialog ......................................................................................................... 30
6.2.3 Tune-dialog ...................................................................................................................... 31
6.3 The control panel ................................................................................................................. 32
6.3.1 Frequency ........................................................................................................................ 32
6.3.2 Mode................................................................................................................................ 33
6.3.3 Single-Scan & Freerun mode ........................................................................................... 33
6.3.4 Zoom ................................................................................................................................ 33
6.3.5 Speed selector ................................................................................................................. 35
6.3.6 Average calculations ........................................................................................................ 35
6.3.7 Phosphor mode ............................................................................................................... 37
6.3.8 Gaussian Filter ................................................................................................................. 37
6.4 The status bar ...................................................................................................................... 39
6.5 The tool bar .......................................................................................................................... 40
6.6 The menu bar ....................................................................................................................... 41
6.6.1 File ................................................................................................................................... 41
6.6.2 Analyser ........................................................................................................................... 42
6.6.3 Presets ............................................................................................................................. 44
6.6.4 Export............................................................................................................................... 46
7 Tools.............................................................................................................................................. 66
7.1 Cable length measurement.................................................................................................. 66
7.2 Cable loss measurement ...................................................................................................... 67
7.3 Generator ............................................................................................................................. 69
7.4 Scheduler ............................................................................................................................. 69
7.4.1 General ............................................................................................................................ 69
7.4.2 Output format.................................................................................................................. 70
7.4.3 Time definition................................................................................................................. 70
7.4.4 Execution log ................................................................................................................... 72
7.5 Data analysis ........................................................................................................................ 73
7.5.1 Loading data .................................................................................................................... 74
7.6 Multi-tune ............................................................................................................................ 78
7.6.1 Control window ............................................................................................................... 79
7.6.2 Scan-window ................................................................................................................... 80
7.7 Pad calculator....................................................................................................................... 82
7.7.1 Usage ............................................................................................................................... 82
7.7.2 Results.............................................................................................................................. 82
7.7.3 Resistor calculation.......................................................................................................... 82

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7.7.4 Limits................................................................................................................................ 83
7.7.5 Samples............................................................................................................................ 83
7.8 S-Parameter collector .......................................................................................................... 85
8 Measurement basics..................................................................................................................... 88
8.1 Storage ................................................................................................................................. 91
8.1.1 Location ........................................................................................................................... 91
8.1.2 Format ............................................................................................................................. 91
8.2 Calibration procedure .......................................................................................................... 92
8.2.1 Over scan ......................................................................................................................... 94
8.2.2 Saving calibration data .................................................................................................... 96
8.2.3 Loading existing calibration data ..................................................................................... 97
8.3 Scan quality .......................................................................................................................... 99
8.4 Calibration modes .............................................................................................................. 100
8.4.1 Presets ........................................................................................................................... 100
8.4.2 Calibration mode 1 ........................................................................................................ 101
8.4.3 Calibration mode 2 ........................................................................................................ 103
8.5 Frequency calibration ........................................................................................................ 104
9 Configuration .............................................................................................................................. 105
9.1 Storage location ................................................................................................................. 105
9.1.1 Changing location .......................................................................................................... 106
9.2 Editing ................................................................................................................................ 107
9.2.1 Options .......................................................................................................................... 108
9.3 Colour settings ................................................................................................................... 109
9.4 Language settings............................................................................................................... 110
9.5 Command-line parameters ................................................................................................ 111
9.5.1 Supported parameters .................................................................................................. 111
9.5.2 Supported region and language codes .......................................................................... 112
10 Update ........................................................................................................................................ 113
10.1 Behind a proxy server ........................................................................................................ 116
11 Samples....................................................................................................................................... 117
11.1 Transmission mode ............................................................................................................ 117
11.2 Reflection mode ................................................................................................................. 120
11.2.1 Comparison with simulation ..................................................................................... 121
11.3 Measuring an 144MHz pre-amplifier ................................................................................. 125
11.4 MiniCircuits 50Ω terminator .............................................................................................. 129
11.4.2 MiniCircuits HAT-6dB attenuator open end .............................................................. 130
11.4.3 MiniCircuits HAT-6dB attenuator terminated 50Ohm .............................................. 131
12 Hints and tips .............................................................................................................................. 132
12.1 Error: No data character received: 0 0 missing - displayed in status bar .......................... 132
12.2 Changing location for configuration data .......................................................................... 132
12.3 Running from a removable media ..................................................................................... 132
12.4 How can I change the number of samples for a scan? ...................................................... 132
12.5 Serial port on Linux cannot be opened .............................................................................. 133
12.6 No serial ports displayed on Linux ..................................................................................... 133
12.7 Reporting a problem .......................................................................................................... 134
12.7.1 Operating system ...................................................................................................... 134
12.7.2 JAVA environment ..................................................................................................... 134
12.7.3 vna/J startup info ...................................................................................................... 135
12.7.4 vna/J .......................................................................................................................... 135
12.8 Enable logging .................................................................................................................... 136
12.9 Application does not start.................................................................................................. 137

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13 Links ............................................................................................................................................ 138

14 License ........................................................................................................................................ 139
14.1 Dutch .................................................................................................................................. 139
14.2 English ................................................................................................................................ 139
14.3 Deutsch .............................................................................................................................. 139

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2 CHANGES

Version Date Changes

2.0.2 14.02.2010 Updated for new GUI and functions
2.1.0 15.02.2010 Update new logic for calibration.
Extended overview
2.1.3 17.02.2010 Added first version of sample section
Added hints and tips section.
Statusbar updated.
2.2.0 18.02.2010 Generator support explained.
Driver info dialog added.
DDS calibration explained.
2.2.1 19.02.2010 Minor corrections
20.02.2010 Extensions
2.3.2 23.02.2010 Extended description
2.4.0 26.02.2010 Shortcut for calibration loading
New marker panel
Automatic scaling on scales
Cable measurement extended
2.4.1 28.02.2010 Added description for scheduler
2.4.3 05.03.2010 GUI further described.
Custom scaling added.
Automatic reloading of calibration data added.
2.4.4 12.03.2010 Fixed scheduler problem with multiple executed tasks.
Added search functions to SWR, loss and phase marker.
Added colour setup dialog for diagram area.
Added export into S-parameter file.
2.4.10 09.04.2010 Added descriptions for Data-analysis- and Smith-chart-dialogs.
Added JAVA section for Mac OS
2.4.11 10.04.2010 Corrected bug in "how to launch in a different language" chap-
ter.
Changed chapter "enable logging".
Updated chapter "Application start Windows"
2.5.0 30.04.2010 Support for miniVNApro enabled
2.5.1 03.05.2010 Detailed frequency calibration for miniVNA PRO.
Generator dialog for miniVNA PRO added
2.5.4 08.05.2010 Updated section "Frequency calibration ".
Updates section "How to launch in a different language"
2.6.0 06.06.2010 Added
- Marker math
- Simple-tune dialog
- Multi-tune dialog
- Network support
Updated
- Sample calibration sets for miniVNA and miniVNApro
- Error reporting details
- S-Parameter export

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Version Date Changes

- Z-Plots export
11.07.2010 Added
- Generator output waveforms
- Load raw in main diagram
05.09.2010 Updated
- Installation on 64bit Mac OS X machines
2.6.9 02.11.2010 Updated installation sections for
- MS Windows machines
- Mac OS X machines
2.6.11 14.11.2010 Moved installation and application-start sections to new installa-
tion document.
Moved technical details for drivers and network support to new
driver development document.
2.6.12 03.01.2011 Corrected links for new website
2.6.14 21.01.2011 Added
- Description of over scan feature in calibration section
- Special section for miniVNA pro in calibration section
- Added measurement sample and simulation to samples
section
Updated
- Description of smith chart
- Updated parameter replacement in export section
- Updated section describing the analyser menu.
2.7.0 01.02.2011 Changes for V2.7 added
2.7.3 16.03.2011 Updated smith-chart section
Updated Data analysis dialog section
2.7.5 27.05.2011 Quick start section updated.
Section for Update function updated.
Language selection dialog section added.
S-Parameter collector section added.
2.8 06.11.2011 Changes added for release 2.8.
Major changes in
- Driver configuration dialog
19.11.2011 Some typos corrected.
Speedup mode added to image panel section.
28.02.2012 Updates frequency calibration section.
10.04.2012 Minor corrections
02.01.2013 Additional calibration mode described.
2.8.6 21.03.2013 Detailed calibration section.
Detailed export setting sections.
27.04.2013 Added new dialog "Setup-Scales dialog"
30.05.2013 Added new parameter {14} to "Export/Settings/Output file"
2.9.x 26. April 2014 Added command-line parameters (see chapter “Command-line
parameters” on page 111)
13. June 2014 Updated screenshots in chapter “Calibration procedure” on
page 92.
3.0.0 9. July 2014 Detailed chapter “Calibration mode 1” on page 101.
3.0.1 13. December 2014 Detailed chapter “Calibration mode 1” on page 101.
3.0.2 12. January 2015 Detailed chapter “Calibration mode 1” on page 101.

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Version Date Changes

3.0.3 18. January 2015 Updated/added
“The image panel” on page 14
"Port extension” on page 27
“Cable loss measurement” on page 67
“Options” on page 108
“Serial port on Linux cannot be opened” on page 133
"No serial ports displayed on Linux” on page 133
“Serial port on Linux cannot be opened” on page 133
“No serial ports displayed on Linux” on page 133
3.0.4 20. January 2015 New parameters in “Comment” on page 51
3.1.3 08. February 2015 Updated chapter “Scales” on page 15 for SWR auto scale.
Updated chapter “Marker panel” on page 28 for differences
between reflection and transmission mode.
3.1.4 02. March 2015 Calibration mode 1 now supports overscan
03. March 2015 Further details added to chapter “Measurement basics” on page
88 ff.
3.1.16 30. April 2017 Corrected some numbers in chapter “Calibration modes” start-
ing at page 100.
3.1.19 11. August 2017 Firmware update tool moved to the “ANALYZER” menu
3.2.x 15. September 2019 Minor Updates on
- 5 Quick-Start-Guide (Windows/OS X)
- 6.3 The control panel
- 6.6.2.1 Setup
3.3.x 1. November 2019 Config for Smith chart extended
- 6.1.3 Display Smith-chart

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3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• First, I want to thank my wife Monika, DL6SCF being incredibly understanding, supportive,
and most of all, patient.

• Davide, IW3HEV and his team for these fine little blue boxes.

• Andy, G0POY, for his permanent quality assurance of new releases, proof-reading this doc-
ument, providing an excellent installation description for SUSE LINUX and giving useful tips
regarding usability etc.

• Dan, AC6LA, author of ZPLOTS, for his support on writing ZPlots and SnP formats correctly.

• Tamas, HG1DFB, for his translation to Hungarian

• Erik, SM3HEW for his translation to Swedish and his continuous testing and comments

• Erik, OZ4KK, for testing and useful tips.

• Bertil, SM6ENG, for testing and useful tips.

• Domingo, EA1DAX has provided the Spanish translation of the relevant manuals

• Toshiyuki Urakami, JP1PZE for translating the user manual and driver guides into Japanese

• Detlef, DL7IY for his valuable testing and comments.

• Gerrit, PA3DJY for providing the Dutch translation and the full user manual translation!

• Peter, G0DZB for his testing on Linux

• Bertrand, ON7KER for his testing on export functions

• Pekka, OH2BSC for his work on Linux issues

• Martin, OK1RR for his Czech translation

• The numerous users worldwide giving me permanent feedback.

• And last but not least my cat Ina, which helped me many times solving complex situations at
the keyboard ;-)

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4 OVERVIEW
The miniVNA and miniVNApro instruments by mRS http://www.miniradiosolutions.com are popular
and very useful test instruments.

The miniVNA instrument is a small blue box with two BNC connectors and a USB connector.

The newer miniVNApro is also small blue box now with two SMA connectors and much enhanced
precision.

All the control of the instrument is performed by a software application running on a PC.

Many people have contributed to the development of this software, but the focus has been mainly
on the Microsoft Windows operating system. There was a Linux based application but this is no long-
er supported, and the advancement of the various Linux distributions has rendered it inoperable.

I've started in 2007 to develop a control application based on the Java programming language. Initial
ideas were taken from the Visual-Basic-Application that was provided by mRS.

Java is a cross-platform language, which allows the identical application binary to run on any sup-
ported Java enabled Operating System.

Currently I've tested the application on Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows7, Windows VISTA, Win-
dows 8.0, Windows 8.1 and Mac OS X.

Other users have tested it successfully on various Linux flavours.

Remark:
Not all screenshots in this documentation are taken from the latest application version.

Where it is necessary for understanding, the latest screenshots are used.

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This user manual contains the following chapters:

Chapter Main content Read before

1st usage
Quick-start guide Ten steps to do the first measurement
✓
GUI A detailed description of the user interface
✓
Export A detailed description, how to export data to images, PDF docu-
ments and other file formats.
Tools Describes the available tools in the application

Measurement
basic
Basic information of how to do measurements using this applica-
tion
✓
Calibration How to get good results

Application start How to start this application on various platforms

Configuration How to do internal configuration

Installation How to install the application on various platforms

Samples Shows some measurements taken with the miniVNA

Hints & Tips Some useful information

Driver developer Describes in detail, how to implement custom hardware drivers

guide for this application.
Links Where to find more information

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5 QUICK-START-GUIDE (WINDOWS/OS X)

1. Install the required FTDI serial port drivers for your PC from FTDI
http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
Only for older Windows version – WIN8 or later should have the matching FTDI drivers on
board

2. Install the latest JAVA version

I recommend the download from https://java.com

3. Plug-in the miniVNA into a free USB port on your PC.

4. Download the latest application version from http://vnaj.dl2sba.com

5. Start the application using the command java -jar vnaJ_X_Y_Z.jar

If you have installed an original ORACLE version, it should also work to launch the JAR by
simply double-clicking in Explorer/Finder.

6. Select the driver configuration:

7. Select your analyser type and the used communication port

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8. Select the TEST button to confirm the selection.

9. If test was run successful simply select UPDATE.

10. Select the mode

11. Open the calibration dialog via this toolbar button

12. Follow the instructions for the selected mode.

13. You can save the calibration data via this button .
A meaningful filename is proposed.

14. Press and the application is ready to work

15. Execute your first scan by pressing this button .

Remark: In case of problems with the above procedure, please be so kind and check the detailed
manuals on http://vnaj.dl2sba.com prior to asking for support!

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6 GUI
The applications main window contains the graphical representation of the scanned values in the
image panel, as well as the control panel and the marker panel.

Image panel

Control panel

Marker panel

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6.1 THE IMAGE PANEL

The image panel contains the following parts:

- The scale selection drop down list boxes for the left and right scale.

- The vertical scales matching the selected scale types in the drop down list boxes.

- The frequency scale at the bottom of the image panel.

- The control button for the smith-chart. See chapter “Display Smith-chart” on page 22 for de-
tails.

- The reference data control. See chapter “Reference data” on page 25 for details.

- The device supply-voltage control displays the current supply voltage of the analyser.
Not supported on some devices.

- The device-temperature control displays the current device temperature. Not support-
ed on some devices.

- The port-extension control. See details in chapter “Port extension” on page 27.

- The display area showing the scanned results from the analyser.

For each tick on the left scale, a dotted line is drawn in the diagram area.

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6.1.1 Scales
The scale for the two diagram lines can be selected using the
scale dropdowns on top of the image panel.

The colour of the dropdowns reflects the colour of the diagram

lines in the image panel. So an easy visual mapping can be done.

Currently the following measurements are available in the scale

select dropdown lists:

Name Content Auto

scale
RL Display return loss (only for reflection measurements) ✓
RP Display the phase of the signal for reflection measurement ✓
TL Display transmission loss (only for transmission measurements) ✓
TP Display the phase of the signal for transmission measurement ✓
RSS This is the absolute value of the transmission sensor. ✓
(Currently not supported on all analysers)
SWR Displays the SWR ✓
|Z| This is the complex impedance of the DUT referred to 50 ohm. ✓
|Z| the magnitude of the complex impedance.
Rs Displays the series equivalent resistance of the load also called Rs ✓
Xs Displays the series equivalent reactance of the load also called Xs ✓
Theta The angle of the phase ✓
Tgr Group delay ✓
- none - No data is displayed for the corresponding scale -

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6.1.1.1 Scale-lifecycle
Each scale has currently three states:

State
Scale set to driver default range The range of the scale is set to fixed range. The scales Phase
and Loss are scaled based on the used driver. The other
scales have an identical range independent of the loaded
driver.

Scale set to measured values The user has selected the auto-scale option. The scales
range is determined by the measured data. Except the SWR
scale, all scales support auto-scaling.

Scale set to custom range The scale is set to a fixed range. The user must enter the
range. The range may not exceed the specified ranges of the
scale.

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6.1.1.2 Auto-scaling
Except the SWR scale, all scales can scale themselves to the measured data.

Selecting the AUTOSCALE checkbox above the diagram enables this auto scale functionality.

When deselecting the AUTOSCALE box, the scale uses the minimum and maximum values as de-
scribed in the previous table.

Clicking twice on the deselected AUTOSCALE box can be used to reset both scales to their default
values.

The range of a display scale is limited by three factors:

• The absolute maximum or minimum defined per scale type (MINabs, MAXabs)
• The current maximum or minimum values defined in the "Setup-Scales dialog" described on
20. (MINuser, MAXuser)
• The values entered in the "Custom-scale dialog" as described on page 18 (MINcustom, MAXcus-
tom)

So, for each scale value the equation is:

MINabs <= MINuser <= MINcustom <= current value

Current value <= MAXcustom <= MAXuser <= MAXabs

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6.1.1.3 Custom-scale dialog

Except the SWR scale, all scales can be scaled to a user-entered range.

left scale area

right scale area

Clicking with the left mouse button on the scale area opens a
small dialog, in which the user can enter the minimum (value
at top of scale) and the maximum (value at bottom of scale)
The range, which can be entered in this dialog is controlled by
the values, defined in the "Setup-Scales dialog".
The RESET button resets the range to the values defined in
the "Setup-Scales dialog".
If custom scaling is not supported for this scale, a message is
shown:

When the entered value is too low for the active scale, a mes-
sage is displayed showing the maximum value.

When the entered value is too high for the active scale, a
message is displayed showing the maximum value.

Clicking on the scale area, when auto-scaling is enabled noti-

fies the user, to remove first the auto-scaling option.

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The scale ranges can also be set using the mouse. When the mouse is posi-
tioned on a scale area, the mouse cursor turns into a pointing hand.
Two modes are available:

• Zoom-in our zoom-out the scale.

• Move the scale up or down.
Zoom-mode
Pressing the left mouse button turns the mouse cursor into a magnifier. Mov-
ing the mouse with pressed left button inside the scale area up or down in-
creases or decreases the scale range.
… Hard to explain - simply try it.
Move-mode
Pressing the right mouse button turns the mouse cursor into a double arrow.
Moving the mouse with pressed right button inside the scale area up or down
moves the scales range up or down up to the values given by the selected driv-
er.
… Hard to explain - simply try it.

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6.1.1.4 Setup-Scales dialog

In this dialog the user can define the scale ranges for the Rs, Xs, |Z| and RSS scale.

The ranges of the scales RL, TL, RP, TP cannot be changed here, because the absolute ranges are de-
termined by the user analyser.

The range of the SWR range cannot be changed, because SWR values above 10:1 are useless.

Idea is, that the user defines the scale ranges for his usual measurement tasks. When he resets the
scale range using the "Custom-scale dialog", the minimum and maximum values are set to values
entered in this dialog.

The values in brackets are the absolute maximum or minimum values for this field. There is no fur-
ther validity checking on this dialog, so be careful. If you get stuck, simply delete the vna/J configura-
tion file.

Clicking the SAVE button, save the ranges to the corresponding scales.

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6.1.2 Saving measured data

Since version 2.8 measured data can be saved in various export format as well as in pure XML. This
can be accessed via the Export/XML menu or via this toolbar button:

The location of the file can be selected in the default SAVE dialog:

Also, a short comment can be entered in the comment box right to the file list.

This data then can be later displayed in the analysis dialog (See chapter "Data analysis" on page 73)
or reloaded into the diagram area as reference data (See chapter "Reference data" on page 25).

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6.1.3 Display Smith-chart

Selecting the Smith-chart checkbox

Opens a non-modal dialog, which displays the current measured data inside a Smith-chart:

If the markers are selected in the main window, a small rectangle in the marker colour is drawn on
the smith-chart and the configured marker data is printed on the right diagram side.

Note: The relevant data for a Smith-chart is only available in reflection mode. In transmission mode,
the analyser is not capable providing the relevant data.

The data in the smith-chart is updated whenever a new scan is done in the main window. The
marker data is updated, when the markers are moved in the main window.

6.1.3.1 Export to GIF-file

The diagram can be exported using the GIF-button. Selecting this button opens the default SAVE de-
fault where the name and location of the diagram can be set.

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The size (number of x/y-pixels) of exported image is determined by the size of the Smith-chart inside
the dialog. To get higher resolution, simply resize the dialog to the desired size and then use the ex-
port function.

6.1.3.2 Configuration
Clicking inside the diagram you can configure the Smith-chart.

6.1.3.2.1 Show these marker fields

Here the data shown for each marker in the smith-chart can be configured. The marker-name and -
frequency is always printed.

6.1.3.2.2 Reference resistance

Further the reference resistance can be changed, for which the chart is calculated.

6.1.3.2.3 Diagram colors

The colour of each element on the diagram can be selected using the buttons in the "Diagram col-
ours" box.

6.1.3.2.4 Invert
You can easily create an inverse image using the “Invert” button.

6.1.3.2.5 Default
Clicking the default button reset all values to defaults (except the circles, for this check chapter
6.1.3.3 “Configuring circles”).

Note: The changed reference resistance is used only on for the NEXT scan.

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6.1.3.3 Configuring circles

The various circles on the smith-chart can be configured with an external text file.

The file is named “SmithChartCircles.txt” and is placed in the configuration directory of vna/J.

This file is created, when the Smith-chart dialog is opened for the first time and is read every time the
Smith-chart dialog is reopened.

The file must always contain three lines:

- A line with semicolon-separated values for the imaginary circles (range 0.0 … 1.0)
- A line with semicolon -separated values for the real circles (range 0.0 … 1.0)
- A line with semicolon -separated values for the SWR circles (range 1.0 … 99.0)

The default file contains these values:

The values must be written with a “.” (dot) as decimal separator.

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6.1.4 Reference data

To compare previously measured data with the current measurement, a reference trace can be load-
ed and displayed in the image panel

Initially no reference data is loaded. This is shown with a crossed button in the toolbar.

When reference data is loaded, the cross is removed from the toolbar button

And the reference trace is shown in the main diagram in the selected colour (here WHITE) after the
next scan.

Only the left scale value is drawn from the reference data. The selected phase on the right scale is
only drawn from the measurement data.

Note: The reference data is drawn together with measured data. So, after loading a new reference
data set, it is displayed after the next executed scan.

First the reference data is drawn and then the measured data. This means, if the reference
data is "covered" by the measured data, no reference trace is visible!

Clicking the reference button opens the "Calibration load dialog". Here the user can search and se-
lect a previously saved reference data set (see chapter "Saving measured data" on page 21) or re-
move the previously loaded reference data set.

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In the list all found reference datasets are displayed which were found in the selected directory.

• The directory can be changed using the "Search…" button.

• The content of the selected directory can be re-read using the "Refresh" button
• When a valid reference data set is selected in the list, the "OK" button is enabled.
• Selecting the "OK" button loads the selected reference dataset into diagram panel.
• Selecting the "Clear" button removes a previously loaded reference data set.

When the loaded reference data does not completely cover the measurement range, only the availa-
ble reference data is drawn. As shown here the reference data is only available from 5.3MHz to
11.3MHz and the measurement scan ranges from 1MHz to 30MHz:

Note: Displaying a directory with a lot of reference data files in, can take some time, as every dataset
has to be completely read to retrieve all the required information.

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6.1.5 Port extension

Usually you’re running the calibration for reflection measurement with the calibration standards
attached to the point, where you later connect the later measurement object.

Sometimes you’re not able to reach this point (i.e. the antenna feed-point up on a tower), so you can
use the port extension calculation to overcome this problem.

If you know the length and velocity factor of the feed line connected between the analyser and the
antenna, you can you the port extension function, to get a correct reading at the analyser.

To enable the port extension function click on this icon and enter the feed line length and the
velocity factor:

If you’ve entered data into this dialog, the icon is enabled and the port extension calculation is
done.

To remove port extension, simply click the button “Clear” in the port extension parameters dialog.

Remark: Currently port extension assumes lossless feed lines – this is enough for SWR calculations.
More to come later!

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6.2 MARKER PANEL

The marker panel displays the actual data of the five markers. The display differs a little bit between
reflection mode:

And transmission mode:

Mouse: Displays values, when the mouse cursor is inside the image panel.

Marker 1: Can be set by moving the mouse into the diagram panel and clicking the left mouse but-
ton.
It can be moved using the mouse-wheel.

Delta: Calculates the absolute differences between most of the Marker 1 and Marker 2 data.

Marker 2: can be set by moving the mouse into the diagram panel and clicking the left mouse but-
ton while pressing the Shift key.
It can be moved using the mouse-wheel while pressing the Shift key.

Marker 3: can be set by moving the mouse into the diagram panel and clicking the left mouse but-
ton while pressing the Control-key.
It can be moved using the mouse-wheel while pressing the Control-key.

Marker 4: can be set by moving the mouse into the diagram panel and clicking the left mouse but-
ton while pressing the Shift-Control-keys.
It can be moved using the mouse-wheel while pressing the Shift-Control-keys.

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6.2.1 Operations
Un-checking the option button right to the marker, removes
the marker from the diagram panel.
When the mouse is positioned inside the diagram panel, the
current values at the mouse position are displayed in the mark-
er named M

The LOSS, PHASE and SWR

fields support search mode.
When the search mode is se-
lected, the marker is automati-
cally positioned on the maxi- Two search-modes are supported:
mum- or minimum-value in the
diagram. - min-search mode

The search mode is selected by - max-search mode

clicking on the respective fields
in marker 1 or marker 2.
Min-search mode is indicated by a small * at the lower-left corner of the field:

Max-search mode is indicated by a small * at the upper-left corner of the field:

Standard mode of the marker is enabled, if no * is visible in the field.

Opens or closes the marker math dialog for this marker

Opens or closes the tune dialog for this marker

Markers are shown in the diagram as small triangles:

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6.2.2 Marker-math dialog

This dialog can be used i.e. to tune an antenna filter to a given centre frequency and a defined band-
width.

The marker-math dialog is bound to one marker. The data displayed in this dialog is the data of this
marker.

To use the reflection loss data for calculation, select this radio button.
To use the transmission loss data for calculation, select this radio button.
Enter the desired bandwidth.

With this dialog, it is possible to measure i.e. the 6dB bandwidth of a band pass or notch filter.

For a simple notch filter the procedure is described in chapter "Transmission mode" on page 117.

Remark: The data in the dialog is updated after a scan!

You must leave the entry field for the "Limit" to activate the new value (i.e. click on dia-
log background ...)

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6.2.3 Tune-dialog
This dialog can be used i.e. to tune an antenna when the PC display is some distance away. The tune
dialog is bound to one of the two markers. The data displayed in the tune-dialog is the data of this
marker.

The dialog is available, when the corresponding marker is visible.

The dialog can be displayed by clicking on the toggle button.
The first click opens the dialog; a second click removes the dialog. The
position, size and the entered limits are stored separately for each
tune dialog.
For a continuous reading ensure, that the free-run mode is enabled.

If you want to display the SWR at a fixed frequency, ensure, that the
marker search mode is not enabled, means no small star is shown in
the marker fields.
If you want to display the minimum or maximum SWR value in the
given scan range, enable the marker search mode for the SWR marker
field.

These two fields can control the background colour of the frequency
and SWR fields.
The background is green, if the SWR is below the entered value in field
Green-Yellow. The background is yellow, if the SWR is between Green-
Yellow and Yellow-Red. The background turns red, if the SWR is above
the value in the field Yellow-Red.
Remark: The Close icon in the dialog does not work!

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6.3 THE CONTROL PANEL

6.3.1 Frequency
In the frequency control panel, you can enter the desired
start and stop frequencies for the scan.

The frequencies entered must be between the lower and

upper maximum, which the selected analyser device can
handle. The range can be checked using the driver info.

You can enter the frequencies in Hz, kHz or MHz

Examples: 144750000 144.750.000 Hz
144m 144.000.000 Hz
7200k 7.200.000 Hz

The start frequency should be below the stop frequency.

By double-clicking with the left mouse button on an en-

try in the presets list, you can quickly set the start/stop
frequencies to the desired range. A selected list entry

can also be used clicking the button.

Entries in the presets list can be deleted by selection an

entry in the list and clicking this button .

A currently entered frequency can be added to the list

clicking on the button.

The presets list is stored to the file system and loaded on

application start.

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6.3.2 Mode
The available modes for the selected analyser type are
displayed in the dropdown combo box.

6.3.3 Single-Scan & Freerun mode

Selecting the checkbox “Freerun” enables the continuous
measurement with the given parameters in the frequency
and mode group.

During continuous scanning, most of the menu entries and

toolbar buttons are disabled to ensure a correct meas-
urement.

If the checkbox is deselected, the scanning of the VNA

stops and the pushbutton for “Single scan” is active.

The free run mode can be started using the F11-key. A

single scan can be also triggered using the F12-key.

6.3.4 Zoom
There are two types of zoom modes supported:

• Min-Max-zoom
• Percentage zoom

If the AUTO checkbox right to the zoom button is checked, the analyser au-
tomatically performs a scan after the ZOOM button was pressed.

6.3.4.1 Min-Max-zoom

When both markers are visible inside the diagram, clicking the button sets the start and
stop frequencies to the range selected by the markers 1 and 2.

Setting the markers to

And clicking the zoom button sets the scan range to these values:

6.3.4.2 Percentage-zoom
When only one marker is visible in the diagram, clicking the zoom button zooms into the current
diagram with:

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• The centre frequency is the marker frequency

• A frequency range of 20% of the current frequency range.

For example:

• Currently selected scan range is from 1MHz to 100MHz. Marker is set to 60MHz.
• Now press ZOOM.
• New scan range is 50MHz to 70MHz with a centre frequency of 60MHz.

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6.3.5 Speed selector

The slider bar can be used to speed up the scan process accepting a reduced precision.

The amount of speedup is displayed in the text field left to the slider bar.

• A value of 1 means no change.

• A value > 1 means, that only every xth point is scanned. The values in between are averaged

6.3.6 Average calculations

Running multiple scans with the same parameters and calculating the arithmetic mean of the scan
results can enhance the scan precision. This helps i.e. to reduce the influence of strong broadcast
stations in the 40m band.

The averaging value is selected with this slider .

The amount of averaging is displayed in the text field left to the slider bar.

• A value of 1 means no change.

• A value > 1 means, that x-scans are averaged.

The averaging buffer is an fifo-like buffer – so you need at last x-scans to average x-scans.

Remarks: The time for executing a scan with one additional scan takes twice the time of a single
scan and so on.
The samples are provided by Detlef, DL7IY (SK) and are measured using a miniVNApro
and a large cage-antenna (Reuse).

6.3.6.1 Average 0

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6.3.6.2 Average 1

6.3.6.3 Average 3

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6.3.6.4 Average 7

6.3.7 Phosphor mode

If the checkbox “Phosphor” is selected, the display behaves like an old phosphor scope. The current
scan is displayed with the brightest colour. The last eight scan are displayed with an decreasing
brightness. The oldest scan has the darkest colour.

6.3.8 Gaussian Filter

If the checkbox “Gaussian filter” is selected, a Gaussian filter is applied to the scan data.

For details on this kind of filter please check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaussian_filter.

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The filter coefficient can be calculated using .

There you can enter the valued .

Details on the values can be found here: http://dev.theomader.com/gaussian-kernel-calculator Here

the “length” is named “Kernel size”.

If you select “Create File” the filter file “Gaussian.txt” is created in the CONFIG-directory of vna/J and
used for the next scans.

You can create your own filter file and place it in the CONFIG-directory of vna/J. Check the generated
file for details on the format.

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6.4 THE STATUS BAR

The status bar at the bottom of the screen contains four sections:

1. In the leftmost section, tool tips for the menu entries and status information of running data
acquisitions are displayed. Green or white background for info messages. Red for errors.
2. The selected type of the analyser is displayed here.
3. When calibration data is loaded, here the number of calibration steps and over scans is dis-
played. If no data is loaded is displayed.
4. In the rightmost section, the filename of the currently loaded main calibration dataset to-
gether with the files comment is shown.

Remark: If any text displayed in the status bar is not completely visible, simply click on it with the
mouse to display a popup dialog, displaying the complete message.

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6.5 THE TOOL BAR

The tool bar below the menu bar contains useful shortcuts to commonly used commands.

Icon Description Menu equivalent

Exit the application. FILE/EXIT
Opens the cable length measurement dialog. For details TOOLS/CABLELENGTH
see chapter "Cable length measurement" on page 66.
Opens the generator dialog. TOOLS/GENERATOR
For details see chapter "Generator" on page 69.
Opens the scheduler dialog. Same as menu TOOLS/SCHEDULER
For details see chapter "Scheduler" on page 69.
Opens the data analysis dialog.
For details see chapter "Data analysis" on page 73.
Open the multi-tune dialog. TOOLS/MULTI-TUNE
For details see chapter "Multi-tune" on page 78.
Opens the attenuator pad dialog. TOOLS/PAD-Calculator
For details see chapter "Pad calculator" on page 82
Opens the calibration dialog. CALIBRATION/LOSS.
For details see chapter "Fehler! Verweisquelle konnte
nicht gefunden werden." on page Fehler! Textmarke
nicht definiert.
Opens the calibration load dialog. CALIBRATION/LOAD
For details see chapter "Loading existing calibration da-
ta" on page 97.
Exports the measured data to a file in the selected for- MENU/XLS, /CSV, /PDF,
mat. /JPG, /S-parameter
For details see chapter "Export" on page 46 MENU/ZPlots
Opens the driver info dialog. ANALYZER/INFO
Open the application settings dialog. Same as menu. FILE/SETTINGS
For details see chapter "Configuration" on page 105.
Configure the colours of the diagram area. FILE/COLORS

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6.6 THE MENU BAR

6.6.1 File
Here the general settings dialog, the language and the
colour configuration dialog can be started.

The application can be closed using the EXIT entry.

6.6.1.1 Settings
The settings dialog is displayed. See chapter "Editing" on page 107 for details.

6.6.1.2 Colours
The colour configuration dialog is displayed. For details please see chapter "Colour settings" on page
109.

6.6.1.3 Language
The language configuration dialog is displayed. See chapter "Language settings" on page 110 for de-
tails.

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6.6.2 Analyser

6.6.2.1 Setup
The configuration of the analyser hard-
ware can be found in the analyser menu.

To select the correct analyser type, first

connect your analyser to your computer
and then select the menu ANALYZ-
ER/SETUP.

Now the driver selection dialog is opened.

Select your analyser type in the left list.

After selection, the available ports for your
analyser are displayed in the right list.
Select the correct port for your analyser
and press the TEST button.

Remark: The name of the interfaces found on the systems de-

pends on the operation system running.

If everything works fine for your analyser,

a GREEN message is display in the status
area.

Then press the UPDATE button and you're

ready to execute scans in the main win-
dow.

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In case of failure an error message in RED

is displayed in the status area.

Then try another of the available ports and

check the connection of analyser to your
computer.

If you are using a Bluetooth connected analyser the checkbox “Wireless connection” should be
checked to increase the timeout used during checking for the analyser.

If your serial port is not displayed on the list “Available ports” you can try to “Show all” serial ports
on your computer. Usually on Linux-systems there may me problems with the naming of serial ports.
If you have problem, please check https://vnaj.dl2sba.com – there are some hint for Linux systems.

6.6.2.2 Info
After selecting the correct hardware, a driver information dialog is available, which shows the hard-
ware specific parameters. This dialog can be also opened using the toolbar button.

Depending on the selected driver a specific dialog is displayed. Please consult the driver guide for the
various analysers.

6.6.2.3 Reconnect …
Since version 2.8 of vna/J a permanent connection is established between vna/J and the connected
analyser. This behaviour greatly reduces the problems for Bluetooth-connections on various plat-
forms.
If the connection between the analyser and vna/J is lost while vna/J is running, no further scans can
be executed. To reconnect to the analyser, select the Reconnect menu entry in the Analyser menu.

6.6.2.4 Firmware download …

Opens the firmware update dialog. Please check the analyser specific driver guide for details.

6.6.2.5 Single scan

Same as button “Single scan” in 6.3 ”The control panel”.

6.6.2.6 Free running scan

Same as checkbox “Freerun” in 6.3 ”The control panel”.

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6.6.3 Presets

6.6.3.1 Save …
Selecting the menu entry PRESETS/SAVE opens this dialog:

Here the user can select which data should be saved for later recall:

The current minimum and

maximum values of the select-
ed scales are saved.

The frequency range entered in the frequency section of

the data panel.

The currently selected mode in the data panel.

Displays a help dialog.

Open the file save dialog where the user enter a new
target file name or select an existing file to overwrite.

Closes this dialog without saving data.

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6.6.3.2 Load …
A simple file selection dialog is opened and the user can select an existing file to load.

6.6.3.3 Internal

The presets are saved as JAVA property file in XML encoding.

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6.6.4 Export
Currently the application supports 4 ways to export the measurement data into an external files:

Format Comment

CSV Exports the pure numerical data into a comma-separated file

JPEG Exports the currently display diagram into a JPEG-compatible file or
to the clipboard.
PDF Exports the currently displayed diagram along with the optional
displayed markers
S-Parameter Export the currently displayed data into an S-parameter (S1P)
compatible file.
S-Parameter collector
EXCEL Exports the pure numerical data into Microsoft© EXCEL Work-
sheet.

XML Exports the currently displayed data into an XML compatible file.
ZPlots Export the data in a format, that the EXCEL macros ZPlots from
AC6LA can directly read and display.

The export functions are available via the

EXPORT menu or the corresponding toolbar
buttons:

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6.6.4.1 Settings
The settings dialog sets common parameters for all export formats.

It can be reached via the menu entry

The various fields are described in the following chapters.

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6.6.4.1.1 Output file → Filename

Here you can enter the name for the exported files. Depending on the export type, the correct file-
name extension (XLS, PDF, JPG and CSV) is appended to this name.

As a special feature, the filename supports parameter replacement. The following parameters are
supported:

{0} Timestamp (see next chapter)

{1} transmission or reflection mode
{2} short name of the analyser
{3} long name of analyser
{4} start frequency for the scan (without thousand-separators)
{5} stop frequency for the scan (without thousand-separators)
{6} start frequency for the scan (with thousand-separators)
{7} stop frequency for the scan (with thousand-separators)
{8} number of samples of current scan
{9} number of over scans used for this scan
{10} number of samples of used calibration data set
{11} number of over scans contained in this calibration data set
{12} filename of the used calibration data set
{13} user login ID from operation system
{14} The text entered in the "Headline" field
{15} The length entered in the port extension dialog (see chapter “Port extension” on page 27)
{16} The velocity factor from the port extension dialog (see chapter “Port extension” on page 27)

6.6.4.1.2 Timestamp
When calling the export function, the current timestamp is provided in parameter {0}. Here are some
formatting examples for this timestamp 2010-02-15 17:12:45:

Format Result
VNA_{0,date,yyMMdd} VNA_100215.xls
VNA_{0,time , HHmmss } VNA_171245.xls
The following replacement parameters are currently supported:

Shortcut Represents Example Shortcut Represents Example

y Year 1996; 96 H Hour in day (0-23) 0

M Month in year 07 k Hour in day (1-24) 24
w Week in year 27 K Hour in am/pm (0-11) 0
W Week in month 2 h Hour in am/pm (1-12) 12
D Day in year 189 m Minute in hour 30
d Day in month 10 s Second in minute 55
F Day of week in 2 a Am/pm marker PM
month
E Day in week Tuesday

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6.6.4.1.3 Output file → Directory

Here the directory is displayed, into which all export files are written. The directory can be selected
using the SEARCH button.

6.6.4.1.4 Output file → Overwrite

If the checkbox OVERWRITE is set, an existing file with the same name as the file to be created is
overwritten.

If the checkbox OVERWRITE is not set, a message is shown and you are asked, whether you want to
overwrite this file.

Note: When a part of the filename is dynamic (i.e. inserted date or time parts) the overwrite warn-
ing is only shown, when exactly the same filename is already existing at the export location.

If you plan to use the scheduler to generate automatically export, ensure, that this checkbox
is not set or that every time the scan runs, a different filename is generated!

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6.6.4.1.5 Headline/Comment
Here you can enter a diagram title, which is displayed in the head section of the exported diagrams
(JPG and PDF format).

The same replacement parameters are supported as for the filename field.

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6.6.4.1.6 Comment
Here you can enter a detailed comment for the measurement, which is printed in the generated PDF-
document below the diagram.

For printing a fixed-space-font is used, so fundamental formatting can be done using SPACES.

The same replacement parameters are supported as for the filename field.

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6.6.4.1.7 Decimal separator for SnP-export

Here you can specify, whether the numerical values are exported to S-parameter files with either
comma or dot as the decimal separator.

Comma separated

Dot separated

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6.6.4.1.8 Marker data

Here you can specify whether the marker data is printed inside the diagram area and its location
within the diagram area.

Left aligned

Right aligned

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6.6.4.1.9 Marker-size
Here you can specify the size of the marker tri-angles in the exported diagrams.

Small

Medium

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Large

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6.6.4.1.10 Size of exported image file in pixels

Here you can specify the size of the chart in pixels for export formats writing bitmap files (JPEG) to
the file system.

6.6.4.1.11 Legend
Here you can specify, which legend is printed on the exported charts.

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6.6.4.2 CSV export

Currently only the values … are exported in CSV format.

• Frequency
• Phase and
• Loss

For EN/US locales, the comma is used as value

separator. The dot is used as decimal separa-
tor:

For DE/CH/AT locales, the semicolon is used as

value separator. The comma is used as decimal
separator.

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6.6.4.3 Microsoft© Excel export

Currently these values are exported to XLS format:

• Frequency
• Return loss
• Return phase
• Transmission loss
• Transmission phase
• Rs
• Xs
• |Z|
• Magnitude
• SWR

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6.6.4.4 Jpeg export

When selecting the menu item or clicking the toolbar button, the diagram is saved in JPEG-format to
an external file.

Hint: When left-clicking the toolbar button with pressed Shift-key on the keyboard, the image
is copied to the systems clipboard as image. The image can be inserted in various appli-
cations like MS Word etc.

Most of the screenshots in this document are created this way.

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6.6.4.5 PDF export

Clicking the PDF toolbar button or selecting the menu entry EXPORT/PDF exports the current
displayed data to a PDF document.

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6.6.4.5.1 Options
When the user presses the SHIFT-key and clicks on the toolbar button, the PDF document is generat-
ed according the EXPORT settings and then opened in the systems PDF reader application.

When the user presses the CTRL-key and clicks on the toolbar button, the edit dialog for the export
text is displayed:

Here the comment and headline fields can be edited. Selecting the "CANCEL"-button aborts the PDF
export. Selecting the "SAVE"-button stores the texts in configuration and continues with PDF genera-
tion. In general the following behaviour is implemented:

Click on Shift-Key Ctrl-Key Action

PDF-Icon - - PDF generated
Dialog with filename of generated output file is shown
PDF-Icon Pressed - PDF generated
Generated document is opened in system PDF-reader applica-
tion
PDF-Icon - Pressed Edit dialog opened
Cancel aborts export.
Save applies the changes in the edit dialog, creates PDF and
shows dialog with filename of generated document.
PDF-Icon Pressed Pressed Edit dialog opened
Cancel aborts export.
Save creates PDF and opens generated PDF in system PDF-
reader application

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6.6.4.5.2 Sample
The comment can be formatted using the export settings described in chapter "Settings" on page 47.

To get this sort of comment field enter this in the export configuration dialog:
Date: {0}
Mode: {1}
Analyser: {2} / {3}
Scan
Start: {4} / {6}
Stop: {5} / {7}
Samples: {8}
Overscan: {9}
Calibration
Samples: {10}
Overscan: {11}
File: {12}
User: {13}

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6.6.4.6 S-parameter export

This function can be used to export the measurement data for 3rd-party applications that require
data in Touchstone® File Format Specification format.

Agilent published this format 2002. A detailed specification can be found here:

http://www.eda.org/pub/ibis/connector/touchstone_spec11.pdf

The parameters are defined for this model:

Currently the miniVNA is only capable of measuring the parameter S11 in reflection mode and S21 in
transmission mode. The other parameters can only be measured, when manually reversing the
DUT/DET connectors.

Remark: The decimal separator used in S-parameter

export is NOT determined by the locale of the
operating system but by two radio-buttons in
the export settings dialog. See also chapter
"Settings" on page 47.

6.6.4.6.1 S1P-parameter export

In reflection mode a file with the extension S1P is generated with the following layout:

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6.6.4.6.2 S2P-parameter export

In transmission mode a file with an S2P extension is generated, having this layout:

Only the parameter S21 is set in the generated file, all other parameters are set to dummy values,
here 0.

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6.6.4.7 ZPlots export

This function exports the measurement data in a format, which can be read by the popular ZPlots-
EXCEL spreadsheet provided by Dan, AC6LA (http://www.ac6la.com/zplots.html). This spreadsheet
also displays the correct sign of the phase in the polar plot as well as the Smith chart for the older
miniVNA.

The export filename also ends with .csv, so that Excel can load it without any renaming.

Importing the data into ZPlots enables the user, to use the features of the ZPlots spreadsheet even
with newer MS-Office versions, where the serial port support currently no longer works.

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7 TOOLS
Currently four tools are available in addition to the network analyser functionality:

• Determine the length of a coaxial cable of a known type

• Use the miniVNA as a simple HF-signal generator
• Scheduler for measurements
• Display and compare previously saved data

These functions can be reached via the TOOLS menu or the corresponding toolbar buttons:

7.1 CABLE LENGTH MEASUREMENT

This tool enables the user to

- Determine the length of a coaxial cable with known velocity factor

- Determine the velocity factor of a cable with known length

Pressing the MEASURE button starts a full-scale scan of the attached analyser in reflection mode.

Depending on which values are filled in by the user, the results are calculated:

The length unit can be selected using the radio buttons for m and ft.

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7.2 CABLE LOSS MEASUREMENT

You can measure the loss of a given cable by running a transmission scan with the cable connected
between the DUT and DET port of the analyser. This gives a very detailed diagram of the cable loss
dependant on the transmission frequency.

If you cannot connect both ends of the cable to the analyser, you can use the function
to get a diagram for the cable loss.

Connect one end of the cable to the DUT port of the analyser. Leave the other end of the cable open
and press the button:

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Check to get smoother reading.

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7.3 GENERATOR
Please consult the various driver guides for explanations regarding the generator dialog.

7.4 SCHEDULER

7.4.1 General
The scheduler enables the user, to create analyser scans on a regular basis. Therefore the user has to
define in which time periods a scan should be done. For details see chapter "Time definition" on page
70.

To give reasonable filenames, the user should define a filename pattern in the export settings like
this:
VNA_{0,date,yyMMdd}_{0,time,HHmmss}

More details on filename pattern see chapter "Output file → FilenameFehler! Verweisquelle konnte
nicht gefunden werden." on page 48.

The scheduler is very similar to the popular LINUX CRON daemon, so for detailed information consult
the LINUX documentation.

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7.4.2 Output format

The same export formats, which are available through the toolbar, are also available for scheduled
output generation.

For each selected output format, a separate file is created as defined in the export settings.

Selecting all checkboxes and specifying a filename patter as described on the previous page gives
these filenames:

7.4.3 Time definition

The time definition must be entered in the field name CRON-String here:

The time definition consists always of five separate patterns:

Order Pattern name Comment Range

1 Minute pattern During which minutes of the hour should the task 0.. 59
been launched?

2 Hours pattern During which hours of the day should the task 0.. 23
been launched?

3 Days of month During which days of the month should the task 1.. 31
pattern been launched? L specifies the last day
of the month

4 Month pattern During which months of the year should the task 1..12
been launched?
5 Days-of-week During which days of the week should the task 0 == Sunday
pattern been launched? 6 == Saturday

The universal quantifier * can be used, to indicate

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• Every minute
• Every hour
• Every day
• Every month
• Every weekday

A list of discrete values can be specified using a comma as separator. I.e. "* 0,12 * * *" means exe-
cute the task at noon and midnight.

A range of values can be specified using a hyphen as separator. I.e. "0-4 * * * *" means execute the
task every minute in the first five minutes of every hour.

A repetitive schedule can be done by using the slash syntax. I.e. */5 * * * * means execute the task
every five minutes starting from now.

For more details see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron

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7.4.4 Execution log

Every action that was executed by the scheduler, is reported in the list box:

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7.5 DATA ANALYSIS

Previously saved data can be later displayed again, using the Data analysis dialog:

Here the user can load up to two previously recorded datasets. The available operations for the da-
tasets are:

Opens the default OPEN-dialog, where the user can select a previously recorded data
set.
The name of the loaded data file is then displayed near the open icon.
Here the same scales are available as in the main diagram area.

The dataset is displayed inside a Smith-chart in a separate dialog window.

See details in chapter "Display Smith-chart" on page 22.
Export the displayed diagram to a JPEG file.
The size of the exported JPG is set fixed to 1000x800 pixels.

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7.5.1 Loading data

Selecting one of the two open buttons shows a general file open dialog where the available files are
displayed:

Currently RAW files (*.vjraw) from vna/J and S-parameter files are supported.

7.5.1.1 VJRAW format

Raw files contain all the information which were available at the point in time of measurement. See
chapter "Saving measured data" on page 21. After selecting a RAW-file for loading the data is dis-
played after loading.

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7.5.1.2 S-parameters
The application supports only properly formatted S-parameter files (see
http://www.eda.org/pub/ibis/connector/touchstone_spec11.pdf for details).

Only a subset of this format is supported:

Parameter S
Format DB

If the selected file contains valid data, the contained data is displayed:

Here you have to choose, which data from the input file should be mapped to which data parameter
inside vna/J.

For this, three dropdown boxes in the "Assign parameters" group are available, where the user can
choose which S-parameter is assigned to which parameter in vna/J.

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For a S-parameter file with

Only S11 set Loss part is assigned to RL and the phase part to PHASE

Only S21 set Loss part is assigned to TL and the phase part to PHASE

S11 and S21 set Loss part of S11 is assigned to RL and the phase part of S11 to RP.

Loss part of S21 is assigned to TL and the phase part of S21 to TP.

The user can change all these assignments using the dropdown combo boxes below the data table.

After clicking the "LOAD" button, the data is loaded from the file, and the dependent parameters Rs,
Xs, |Z| and SWR are calculated.

Note: For analyser, which do not provide a correct phase sign (like the miniVNA or the MAX6),
the calculation of Rs maybe incorrect.
This may also result in weird curves on the Smith-chart.
This will be fixed in a later version of vna/J.

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7.5.1.2.1 Error in file format

When loading a file without data or without a valid header, this message is displayed:

Please check the file with a standard text editor whether it contains a valid header and any data.

7.5.1.2.2 Invalid file content

If the file does not contain the proper S-format data, this message is displayed:

Please try to provide an S-parameter file with different format and parameters.

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7.6 MULTI-TUNE
The idea of this "multi-tune" dialog is, to support the tuning of multiband antennas or multiband
filters inside receivers etc.

The user can create one or more small scan windows with different frequency ranges to cover the
necessary spectrum.

The window can be opened by selecting the menu bar entry TOOLS-MULTI TUNE or the

corresponding toolbar button .

The mode (transmission or reflection) is determined by the selected mode in the main window.

The type of scale displayed is also determined by the scale selected in in the left-scale of the main
window.

The window is modal to the main window and must be closed selecting the close-icon in
the upper-right corner.

On the very first start of the multi-tune window, the frequency list is populated with the same
defaults as the frequency list in the main window:

Remark: If port extension is enabled in the main window, the port extension parameters are also
applied to each scan in the multi-tune window.

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7.6.1 Control window

The window labeled "control" contains a list of scan-ranges that are executed whenever the button

is pressed.:

Selecting the checkbox enables a free-running mode, same way as it is handled in the
main window.

A new entry can be added to the list by entering the start and stop frequency in the entry fields and

pressing the button. An existing can be deleted by selecting the entry in the list and

pressing the button.

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7.6.2 Scan-window
Each scan window contains the data for the given scan range. The measurement parameter (Loss,
Phase, SWR, Xs, Rs, |Z|) is determined by the type of the left scale in the main window:

Each of the windows has personal-scaling settings:

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The diagrams support a number of operations like scaling, printing or exporting the data.

Simply click on the diagram area with the right-mouse button and selected the desired option.

Each diagram has its own options. These options are NOT retained when closing and reopening this
window!

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7.7 PAD CALCULATOR

7.7.1 Usage
• Enter the requested attenuation in the input field Attenuation
• Enter the requested input resistance in the field R1
• Enter the requested output resistance in the field R2
• Enter the maximum number of resistor which are used to build the exact calculated resistors.
• To switch between T-type and Pi-type pads, use the radio-buttons

7.7.2 Results
• The exact calculated resistor values for R3, R4 and R5 are display right to the entry fields of
R1 and R2.
• In the line E12-Series the possible resistor values for R3, R4 and R5 are displayed for the re-
sistor series E12.
• In the line E24-Series the possible resistor values for R3, R4 and R5 are displayed for the re-
sistor series E24.
• In the line E48-Series the possible resistor values for R3, R4 and R5 are displayed for the re-
sistor series E48.
• For each resistor series also the effective input resistance R1 and output resistance R2 are
calculated and displayed

7.7.3 Resistor calculation

In the tool tip text of each resistor R3, R4, R5 the combination of 1 to n resistors from this series is
displayed.

Let's take this as an example: Pi-pad, Attenuation=18dB, R1=400Ohm, R2=50Ohm, max. #resistors=2

• The exact value for R4=552,77Ohm.

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• Using the E12-series a 470Ohm resistor in series with an 82Ohm resistor is used
• Using the E24-series a 510Ohm resistor in series with an 43Ohm resistor is used
• Using the E48-series a 536Ohm resistor in series with an 16.2Ohm resistor is used

7.7.4 Limits
It is not possible to calculate any combination of attenuation, input- and output-impedance.

If calculation fails, negative resistor values are displayed.

7.7.5 Samples

7.7.5.1 Pi-type pad

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7.7.5.2 T-type pad

7.7.5.3 Acknowledgements
This calculation is based on the excellent article from Ulrich Fleischmann, DL9LX in the German mag-
azine CQ DL 2-2011 pp. 115.

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7.8 S-PARAMETER COLLECTOR

As the currently supported analysers support only one measurement mode at a time (reflection or
transmission) it is not possible to create an S-parameter file with more than one parameter. This is
sufficient for two-pole circuits but for four-pole circuits three parameters cannot be written to the
regular S-parameter file (for this type of export see chapter "S-parameter export" on page 63).

To overcome this limitation, the S-parameter collector was introduced. This tool allows the user to
create an S-parameter file with up to four parameters. The S-parameters supported by the collector
are shown below:

To start your S-parameter collection, simply open the non-modal dialog via the menu EXPORT/S-
PARAMETER COLLECTOR.

For each of the parameters connect the analyser to the four-pole circuit according to the type of S-
parameter and execute a scan in

• Transmission mode (for S21 and S12) or in

• Reflection mode scan (for S11 and S22).

After each scan, the click the corresponding

add-button in the S-parameter col-

lector arranged around the centre graphic.

To overwrite a previously registered scan,

simple press again the add-button

and the "old" data is overwritten.

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When a scan is registered in the collector, the delete-button becomes active and the scan base
parameters are displayed in the top group:

Each following scan must match these base

parameters else an error message is displayed
and the data is not added to the collection.

If you want to change the base parameters,

simply delete all previous collected scan by

selecting all the active delete-buttons

After acquiring the required data, simply select the SAVE button. The previously registered data is
presented in an overview dialog. Here you can check your measurement data.

If the data matches your requirements select the SAVE button and enter the name of the S-
parameter file in the now opened default file save dialog:

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8 MEASUREMENT BASICS
To get reliable measurement data, for all supported analyser a set of calibration data is required to
calculate the calibrated data from the raw data read from the analyser.

The following pictures gives a rough overview how calibration of raw data is implemented inside
vna/J:

RAW calibration Corrected Resized

block calibration block calibration block

(1) (2) During load of cal. data (3) (4)

Open Open Open

RAW RAW RAW

Short Short Short

RAW RAW RAW

Load Load Load

RAW RAW RAW

Loop Loop Loop

RAW RAW RAW

(0)
Phase/Gain/Temp
Correction

(5) After scan (8)

(6) (7)
RAW scan Calibrated
data scan data

Before a scan can be executed a raw calibration block or file1 (1) is loaded from the calibration disk
folder. With some system constants (0) and some additional formulas (2) from this raw calibration
data a corrected calibration block (3) is created.

The raw (1) as well as the calibrated (3) block cover the whole frequency range of the analyser. These
calibration blocks may contain thousands of calibration points. Depending, how the calibration data
was created.

When the image panel is first displayed (or resized), a so called resized calibration block (4) is calcu-
lated from the corrected calibration block (3). This corrected calibration block contains as many sam-
ples as the image panels pixel width. So for each pixel in the image panel, exactly one calibration
point is available for calibrating the raw sample (5) from the analyser.

After executing a scan, the raw scan data (5) from the analyser is corrected with some constants (6).
Then for each raw sample a calibrated sample is calculated (7) and stored as one calibrated sample.
This calibrated sample is then displayed inside the image panel or exported into files for further pro-
cessing.

1
How to create such a calibration file check chapter “Calibration procedure” on page 90.

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As you can see, all calibration data is matching exactly one specific analyser. Means, the calibration
data carries the specific hardware properties of this analyser. That’s the reason, why I do not provide
any calibration data for download. Not all men are equal – the same applies too for analysers ;-)

Depending of the analyser type and mode, a number of calibration data sets is needed:

Analyser Mode OPEN SHORT LOAD LOOP

miniVNA, MAX6 Transmission - - - ✓
Reflection ✓ - - -
miniVNApro, miniVNAt- Transmission ✓ - - ✓
iny
Reflection ✓ ✓ ✓ -

Now let me explain the algorithm, how to create a resized calibration block from the corrected cali-
bration block. Let’s assume, the user is using an analyser with a frequency range from 1MHz to
200MHz and has created a raw calibration block in calibration mode 1 with five calibration ranges:

# Frequency from Frequency to Steps

1 1.000.000Hz 9.999.999Hz 10

2 10.000.000Hz 69.999.999Hz 8

3 70.000.000Hz 79.999.999Hz 9

4 80.000.000Hz 169.999.999Hz 9

5 170.000.000Hz 200.000.000Hz 20

Visualized, it looks like this:

1MHz 50MHz 100MHz 150MHz 170MHz 200MHz

Remember, the raw calibration block as well as the corrected calibration block contain the equal
number of calibration points.

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Now the user wants to execute a measurement scan from 50MHz to 100MHz. The horizontal size of
the image panel is assumed with 50 Pixels (these many vertical lines in the image below).
50MHz 100MHz
(1)

(2)

(a) (b) (c)

(3)

1MHz 50MHz 100MHz 150MHz 170MHz 200MHz

After reading the raw scan data (1) from the analyser, a resized calibration block (3) is created from
the corrected calibration block (3). Now you can see, that the calibration data for the raw samples
are taken from three different ranges of the corrected calibration block (3).

This leads to a relatively course calibration where the calibration data is from range (a), a finer cali-
bration where the calibration data is from range (b) and a really course calibration where the calibra-
tion data is from range (c).

For the analysers with a frequency range up to 200 MHz it is sufficient to create raw calibration block
with i.e. 2.000 samples. So each calibration samples covers abt. 100 kHz.

If we are using the same number of steps for an analyser with a range up to 3 GHz each step now
only covers about 1.5 MHz.

So if you now want to measure i.e. a 40m antenna, the complete 40m band will be covered with only
one calibration step and will probably lead to false results. That’s the reason, why calibration mode 1
was introduced. For details on mode 1 check chapter “Calibration mode 1” on page 101.

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8.1 STORAGE
8.1.1 Location
The raw calibration dataset can be stored (see "Saving calibration data" on page 96) and retrieved
from your local disk (see "Loading existing calibration data" on page 97).

The calibration files are stored in the following location on your local hard disk:

Platform Location
Windows XP C:\Einstellungen und Dokumente\<UserName>\vnaJ.2.9\calibration
C:\documents and settings\<UserName>\vnaJ.2.9\calibration
Windows VISTA, 7, 8 C:\Benutzer\<UserName>\vnaJ.2.9\calibration
C:\users\<UserName>\vnaJ.2.9\calibration
Mac OSX /Users/<UserName> /vnaJ.2.9/calibration
SUSE Linux 11 /home/user/<UserName>/vnaJ.2.9/calibration

8.1.2 Format
The calibration files are stored binary on the file system with the extension .cal.

Basically this is a JAVA internal representation of the raw calibration data.

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8.2 CALIBRATION PROCEDURE

The calibration dialog is opened by selecting the menu CALIBRATION/LOSS or the corresponding but-
ton in the toolbar. In the title bar of the calibration dialog, the currently selected mode is always dis-
played.

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There are four diagram areas on this dialog. Depending of the selected mode and analyser type, one
or more diagram areas are enabled for usage.

For every visible diagram, a measurement must be made to create a valid main calibration dataset.
When all the required calibration data has been created, the SAVE button gets enabled and the
UPATE button receives a green background to indicate, that a complete main calibration dataset is
now recorded.

The created main calibration dataset can now be used in the application by simply pressing the UP-
DATE button, which will also close the dialog.

If one or more curves do not match the expectations simply rerun the needed calibration by pressing
the button below the diagram again.

When closing the dialog using the UPDATE button, the calibration status in the status bar is updated.

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8.2.1 Over scan

To get smoother scans when the measured object s resistance is near one of the calibration refer-
ences (means i.e. the measured resistance is 50Ohm real which is identical with the reference value
50Ohm) an over scan feature was added.

In the calibration dialog exists an input field , where the number of scans can
be entered. This number of scans is executed when one of the read button is pressed. The final cali-
bration data is calculated using the arithmetic mean of all scans executed.

The higher the number, the smoother the calibration data is.

The results are explained here with a 50Ohm resistor connected to DUT in reflection mode.

8.2.1.1 2.000 calibrations points and 5x over scan

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8.2.1.2 2.000 calibration points and 1x over scan

Remark: The time needed to create an i.e. 5x over scan is about 5 times the duration needed for
a 1x over scan.

The resulting calibration data file contains no information how many over scans where
used during creation

Using over scan makes only sense for the miniVNApro+extender or the miniVNAtiny. For the
miniVNA or the miniVNApro the raw data is clear enough.

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8.2.2 Saving calibration data

After creating a complete calibration data set in the calibration dialog, it is possible to save this cali-
bration data set for later use by pressing the SAVE button. This opens this dialog:

In the upper list, all existing calibration files are listed for information.

The filename of the new calibration files is pre-set. This filename is constructed following this pat-
tern:
<Mode>_<Type>.cal

Mode REFL | TRANS

Type miniVNA |miniVNA-pro | …

The user can overwrite the name.

Note: When an already existing file is selected, a warning is shown and when confirming it,
the existing file is overwritten.

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8.2.3 Loading existing calibration data

Existing calibration data files can be loaded via the OPEN icon in the toolbar or inside the
calibration dialog, it is also possible to load a previously saved calibration data file.

When pressing the LOAD button inside the calibration dialog, a special selection dialog opens, which
shows detailed information on matching calibration files in the preferred directory.

When selecting the SHOW ALL FILES checkbox, all calibration files in the preferred directory are dis-
played:

Note: The number shown in the column #Over is only valid, if the calibration data was created suing
calibration mode 2.

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When the selected entry matches the current configuration (mode, analyser type) the OK button is
enabled. Pressing the OK button loads the selected calibration data into the calibration dialog:

The calibration points are recalculated based on the current formulas implemented in the application
to ensure also correct loading after update to internal mathematics. Check the beginning of chapter
“Measurement basics” on page 88 ff.

Note: The type column displays the internal number of the selected driver and is just for infor-
mation purposes.

It is only possible to load calibration data sets that exactly match the selected hardware in
the aspects of analyser-type, frequency-range, reflection or transmission mode and number
of calibration steps.

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8.3 SCAN QUALITY

The number of calibration steps has a direct impact on the quality of small scan-ranges.

Let’s take the default number of 2.000 steps. This gives a frequency span of about 100 kHz per cali-
bration step for an analyser frequency span from 1-200MHz.

So when we execute a scan from

i.e. 57 MHz to 59 MHz this range is
covered by 20 calibration points.

If the number of calibration steps is

increased to 20.000 steps. This
gives a frequency span of about
10kHz per calibration step. Now the
same range is covered by 200 cali-
brations points This results in a far
more smooth measurement curve.

Note: For some drivers, the number of calibration steps can be set in the driver info dialog. Please
consult the various driver guides for details.

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8.4 CALIBRATION MODES

Starting with release 2.8.5d of vna/J there are two modes for the calibration:

Mode 1 Depending on the analyser type, the maximum scan range of the analyser is divided into 1
or more ranges with different number of calibration steps. This results in enhanced reso-
lution in these scan ranges.

Mode 2 This mode uses a fixed number of calibration steps in maximum scan range of the analys-
er. For some analyser types, the number of steps can be changed in the driver info dialog.

8.4.1 Presets
The following tables shows the scan ranges depending on the analyser type and calibration mode.
Analyser Mode 1 Over Mode 2
Start Stop Steps scan Start Stop Steps
miniVNA 100.000 180.000.000 20.000 1 100.000 180.000.000 2.000
miniVNA-LF 15.000 1.000.000 4.000 1 15.000 1.000.000 2.000
miniVNA-pro 100.000 999.999 4.000 1 100.000 180.000.000 2.000
1.000.000 9.999.999 4.000 1
10.000.000 29.999.999 10.000 1
30.000.000 180.000.000 10.000 1
miniVNA-pro 10.000.000 139.999.999 2.000 1 100.000 180.000.000 2.000
Ext
140.000.000 149.999.999 2.000 1
150.000.00 419.999.999 1.000 1
420.000.000 449.999.999 2.000 1
450.000.000 1.099.999.999 1.000 1
1.100.000.000 1.500.000.000 2.000 1
miniVNA-pro 15.000 1.000.000 20.000 1 15.000 1.000.000 2.000
LF
miniVNA-Test 100.000 2.400.000.000 20.000 1 100.000 2.400.000.000 2.000
MAX6 100.000 180.000.000 20.000 1 100.000 180.000.000 2.000
MAX6-500 100.000 500.000.000 20.000 1 100.000 500.000.000 2.000
Sample 100 9.999.999.999 20.000 1 100 9.999.999.999 2.000
miniVNA-tiny 1.000.000 30.999.999 10.000 2 1.000.000 3.000.000.000 2.000
31.000.000 48.999.999 500 1
49.000.000 52.999.999 2.000 2
53.000.000 142.999.999 500 1
143.000.000 147.999.999 2.000 2
148.000.000 428.999.999 500 1
429.000.000 441.999.999 2.000 2
442.000.000 1.229.999.999 500 1
1.230.000.000 1.310.999.999 2.000 2
1.311.000.000 2.199.999.999 500 1
2.200.000.000 2.599.999.999 2.000 2
2.600.000.000 3.000.000.000 500 1

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8.4.2 Calibration mode 1

These scan ranges can be changed by the user by editing a simple text file. The driver specific text-file
is created when the calibration dialog is first opened. The filename depends on the short-name of the
driver. The file is located in the presets directory of vna/J.

The text-file must contain lines with triples containing three values:

[start-frequency]blank[stop-frequency]blank[number of steps]blank[#overscan]

• The frequency must be within the range of the driver. You can check the minimum and max-
imum frequency in the driver info dialog. The frequency values must be in Hertz.
• The ranges must cover the complete frequency range of the driver.
• The number of steps must be within the range of 10 and 30.000.
• The number of overscan must be between 1 and 10
• The ranges must be listed in ascending order
• The ranges must contain no gaps and no overlap.

For the driver of the miniVNApro, the file looks like this:

For the driver of the miniVNApro with the extender, the file looks like this:

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For the miniVNAtiny, the default file looks like this:

The files are loaded during application start of vna/J. If vna/J detects an error in a file, it replaces this
file with a default file and renames the corrupt file to *.bak.

Hint: If you get stuck in using these user-defined scan ranges, simply delete the corresponding file
in the pre-set folder of vna/J

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8.4.3 Calibration mode 2

The number of calibration steps can be changed in the calibration dialog between 3.000 and 30.000
steps.

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8.5 FREQUENCY CALIBRATION

The calibration can be done easily using a frequency counter connected to the DUT port.

Execute the following steps:

1. Open the frequency calibration dialog (menu CALIBRATION/FREQUENCY)

2. Connect a frequency counter to the DUT (or the TX on the Extender) connector of the ana-
lyser.
3. Enter the desired calibration frequency in the input field. At start-up, the half of the maxi-
mum frequency is pre-set. The frequency input field has the same behaviour as the
start/stop fields in the main window.
4. Fine tune the frequency with the frequency digits, until the entered frequency is displayed
on the external frequency counter
5. Close the dialog with the SAVE button.

Remark: The calibration value is stored for the selected analyser type. This can be checked also
in the driver information dialog.

When closing the application, the correction value is saved to the file system and will
be reloaded whenever this driver is loaded.

If you get stuck somewhere during the frequency calibration, simply leave this dialog,
open the driver info dialog, press there the RESET button and go back to the calibration
dialog to start over.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

9 CONFIGURATION
All configuration data is stored in a user specific folder on the file system. No entries are made to the
system registry or any other system configuration files.

All configuration and calibration files can be found here:

Platform Location
Windows XP C:\Einstellungen und Dokumente\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9
C:\documents and settings\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9
Windows VISTA C:\Benutzer\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9
C:\users\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9
Windows 7 C:\Benutzer\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9
C:\users\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9
Windows 8 C:\Benutzer\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9
C:\users\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9
Mac OSX /Users/<UserName> / vnaJ.2.9
SUSE Linux 11 /home/user/<UserName>/vnaJ.2.9

Remark: If you want to delete everything, simply delete the vnaJ directory, the used JAR-file and
everything is gone.

9.1 STORAGE LOCATION

The settings for the vna/J application are stored inside an XML-file named vna.settings.xml.

This file is created after first application start and successful termination and contains a set of valid
parameters.

Platform Location
Windows XP C:\Einstellungen und Dokumente\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9\config
C:\documents and settings\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9\config
Windows VISTA C:\Benutzer\<UserName>\vna.2.9\config
C:\users\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9\config
Windows 7 C:\Benutzer\<UserName>\vna.2.9\config
C:\users\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9\config
Windows 8 C:\Benutzer\<UserName>\vna.2.9\config
C:\users\<UserName>\ vnaJ.2.9\config
Mac OSX /Users/<UserName> / vnaJ.2.9/config
SUSE Linux 11 /home/user/<UserName> / vnaJ.2.9/config
Additional configuration files may be created inside this directory.

See also chapter "Options" on page 108.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

9.1.1 Changing location

The storage location can be changed by specifying a user-defined directory when calling vna/J.

The basic command line for calling vna/J is:

java -jar vnaj.2.9.0jar

Adding this parameter

java -Duser.home=c:/temp -jar vnaj.2.9.0jar

stores all vna/J data inside the folder c:/temp.

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9.2 EDITING
CAUTION: Make changes inside the configuration window with care! When the application does
not work correctly, first try to delete the configuration files and start from scratch.

See chapter "Application does not start" on page 137

You can open the configuration dialog via the menu entry or this toolbar button

The internal configuration variables for the vna/J application are then displayed:

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

When finished, click the button, to write it to the active configuration set. The configu-
ration data is saved to disc when you close the application.

Clicking the button, reverts all changes and closes the window.

9.2.1 Options
Clicking the buttons directly opens the systems file browser on the con-
figuration directory of vna/J.

Setting this checkmark opens a confirmation box when user wants to close
the application.

Enables error logging. This is usually only needed for debugging purposes.

Hint: Enabling tracing may affect the overall application performance

When this option is selected, a scan is automatically started, when a new

frequency pair is selected in the presets table.

When this option is selected, a scan is automatically started with the new
scan range after the Zoom button is pressed.

Shows the amateur radio bands inside the image panel

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

9.3 COLOUR SETTINGS

The colours used in the diagram area can be customized by the user.

Clicking on the toolbar icon or using the FILE/COLORS menu entry opens the colour configura-
tion dialog:

Here the user can change the colours of the following image panel
components:

• The colour used to draw the values for the scale selected in
the left dropdown list.
• The colour used to draw the values for the scale selected in
the right dropdown list.
• The colour of the MOUSE marker text field. As the mouse
marker is not drawn on the diagram, this sets only the colour
of the marker name.
• The colour of MARKER 1. This sets the colour that is used to
draw it on the diagram as well as the name of the marker.
• The colour of MARKER 2. This sets the colour that is used to
draw it on the diagram as well as the name of the marker.
• The colour of the horizontal dotted-lines in the diagram
• The background colour of the diagram area.
Clicking the OK button uses
the selected colours, up-
dates the image panel and
saves them to the configura-
tion file on application ter-
mination.

Clicking on one of the buttons opens a colour selection

dialog, where the user can fine-tune the colour of the
selected element.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

9.4 LANGUAGE SETTINGS

The application currently supports these languages:

Usually the language for the application is determined automatically based in the environment under
which the application is running. Means; launching the application on a Windows© PC with locale
GERMAN, all messages, GUI elements and formatting will be done in German.

If this detection does not work correctly or you want to force the application to start in a specific
language, the language can be set using this dialog.

• Selecting a specific language means, after an application restart, the selected language is
used as application language despite the locale of the platform on which vna/J is running.
• Select the "System" option means, that the application language is determined by the locale
of the platform on which vna/J is running.

Remark: If someone has some spare-time, he can provide translations for his native language. To
get a basic idea, what has to be done, check the "Translation Guide" on
http://download.dl2sba.com/vnaj/manuals/Translation/TranslationGuide.pdf .

Simply send me an email to vnaj@dl2sba.de and I will provide you the necessary files.

A very limited number of hams already have contributed their work to the ham communi-
ty - feel free to be one of them - see chapter “Acknowledgements” on page 8.

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9.5 COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS

vna/J support a number of command-line parameters via the standard parameter procedure for JA-
VA execution.

Basically these parameters are passed via the –D option of the JAVA virtual machine.
java -Duser.home=c:/temp
-Duser.language=en
-Duser.region=US
-jar vnaJ.2.9.1.jar

In the above example

• the home directory of vna/J is set to “c:\temp”

• the user language is set to English
• the user region is set to the united states

9.5.1 Supported parameters

The following parameters are supported:

Parametername Usage
user.home Points to the directory, where the root directory for vna/J is located.
You can use the path-delimiter “/” on all platforms including Windows.
See also info in chapter “Storage location” on page 105.
user.language Sets the users language to one of the supported languages.
See details in chapter “Language settings” on page 110 and below this
table.
user.region Sets the users region to one of the supported regions.
See details in chapter “Language settings” on page 110 and below this
table.
configfile Overrides the name of the main configuration XML file.
See also chapter “Storage location” on page 105.
http.proxyHost Specify the proxy server for accessing the update site behind a proxy
server.
See chapter “Behind a proxy server” on page 116.
http.proxyPort Specify the proxy server port for accessing the update site behind a
proxy server.
See chapter “Behind a proxy server” on page 116.
Remark: The parameter names are case-sensitive!

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

9.5.2 Supported region and language codes

The following combinations of language and region are supported:

user.region user.language Remark

US en Texts and messages are displayed in English.
Numbers and timestamps are formatted in English.
DE de Same for Germany
HU hu Same for Hungary
PL pl Same for Poland
SE sv Same for Sweden
IT it Same for Italy
ES es Same for Spain
NL nl Same for the Netherlands
Remark: The parameter values are case-sensitive!

If you are missing a language, please check chapter “Language settings” on page 110 :-)

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

10UPDATE
Starting with version 2.7 an update
check function is included in vna/J.

Selecting the "Check for updates"

menu entry open the update dialog of
vna/J.

Initially only the current version of

vna/J, here "2.7.0r" is displayed.

Selecting the "Check" button reads a

version information file from the
vna/J download website.

• A short description of the new

version is displayed in the
"Comment" field.
• All includes files in this ver-
sion package are displayed in
the list.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

If the version on the website is newer

then the currently installed version,
the "Install" button is enabled.

Selecting the "Install" button starts

the download of all the files contained
in this version package.

The download status of each file is

displayed in the list. The download
can be aborted clicking the "Abort"
button. All further downloads are
aborted:

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

The location, where the downloaded

files are stored is displayed in "Instal-
lation directory" and can be changed
using the "Search" button.

Selecting the PROPOSE button, sets

the installation directory name to the
parent directory of the currently run-
ning application and appends the
version identifier displayed in field
available version.

After successfully downloading the

new version, it can be started as de-
scribed in the installation manual.

Note: During checking for a new version and downloading this new version, NO information is
transmitted to any website! Only the file, displayed in the field "Update site" is down-
loaded and all files described in this file are downloaded to the selected location.

It is strongly recommended to download any version update into a separate directory on

the local machine to avoid any version issues. Use the PROPOSE button to create a new
directory name.

Do NOT download any new version to the directory where the currently running version
is installed!

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

10.1 BEHIND A PROXY SERVER

If you are running vna/J behind a proxy server (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server) that is
not transparent to the user, you have to provide additional information during the start of vna/J.

A good place to provide this information is the start_vnaj.cmd provided in the download area:

You have to ask your system administrator for these parameters:

• name or IP-address of your proxy server

• IP-port on the proxy server

In my example the values are webcache.mydomain.com as the address of the proxy server and 8080
as the IP-port of the proxy server. So edit the cmd-file to:

Hint: If you are running Linux or Mac OS, you can copy the part after "start …" into your command
window and execute vna/J manually.

Note: I do not store this information anywhere inside vna/J or transmit it to the update website. If
your proxy server requires some kind of authentication data, you have to download the files
manually from my website http://vnaj.dl2sba.com as this will be never supported by vna/J.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

11SAMPLES

11.1 TRANSMISSION MODE

We have a simple serial LC filter used as a band stop. This gives a measurement curve with vna/J:

To measure the data for this filter, follow this procedure:

• Switch to transmission mode.

• Switch to free-run mode to get constant updates of the values.
• Click on the diagram area with the left-mouse button
• Select the MAX-search mode for the loss field of marker 1
• Click the math-symbol for marker 1.

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The main window should look like this:

and cursor 1 should be set to the maximum transmission loss, here about 34dB at 94.2 MHz. The
marker-math dialog should display these values:

This can be verified using the markers 2 and 3 manually:

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

11.2 REFLECTION MODE

We have a simple serial LC circuit connected to DUT.

This gives a measurement curve with vna/J.

To measure the data for this circuit, follow this procedure:

• Switch to reflection mode

• Switch to free-run mode to get constant updates of the values.
• Click on the diagram area with the left-mouse button
• Select the MAX-search mode for the loss field of marker 1
• Click the math-symbol for marker 1.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

The main window should look like this:

and the marker-math dialog should display these values:

11.2.1 Comparison with simulation

I've build up this simple circuit:

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

where (1) is the miniVNA pro. Using vna/J with the miniVNA pro I'll get this scan:

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

Setting the search-mode of cursor 1 to minimum

it automatically sets cursor 1 to 99.15 MHz - the minimum loss.

Opening the cursor-math dialog for cursor 1 gives this:

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

When I enter now the values for C=193,74pF and L=13,3nH I get this simulation inside RFSim99:

As you can see, the minimum loss is also at about 99,45MHz ☺

RFSim99 can be found here:

http://elektronikbasteln.pl7.de/rfsim99-filter-berechnung.html

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

11.3 MEASURING AN 144MHZ PRE-AMPLIFIER

Idea is to measure amplification and frequency response of an older 2m preamp from the German
company Burdewick:

The basic measurement setup was this:

To reduce the output power of the miniVNApro a 20dB pad is connected between the DUT-output
and the preamp in. Between the preamp out and the DET-input a 10dB pad is connected.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

First a transmission calibration is executed without the preamp but with both pads in sequence as
this the basic system attenuation. This results in a flat scan:

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

Now connecting the powered preamp between the two pads gives this transmission scan:

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

Zooming to the interesting frequency range from 143 to 147MHz shows directly the amplification of
the preamp of about 13dB.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 3.3.x

11.4 MINICIRCUITS 50Ω TERMINATOR

11.4.1.1 miniVNA

11.4.1.2 miniVNA PRO

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11.4.2 MiniCircuits HAT-6dB attenuator open end

11.4.2.1 miniVNA

11.4.2.2 miniVNA PRO

 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

11.4.3 MiniCircuits HAT-6dB attenuator terminated 50Ohm

11.4.3.1 miniVNA

11.4.3.2 miniVNA PRO

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

12HINTS AND TIPS

12.1 ERROR: NO DATA CHARACTER RECEIVED: 0 0 MISSING - DISPLAYED IN STATUS

BAR
Reason: This indicates, that the VNA is currently not responding on the selected port.

This may happen, if the VNA is plugged into different USB-port. On some operation
systems now another COM-port is assigned to the VNA.

Solution: Please select the correct port, to which your VNA is connected. See also chapter
"Setup” on page 42.

12.2 CHANGING LOCATION FOR CONFIGURATION DATA

The default storage location is described in chapter "Storage location" on page 105.

The storage location can be changed by specifying a user defined directory when calling vna/J.

Adding this parameter

java -Duser.home=c:/temp -jar vnaj.2.7.0jar

stores all vna/J data inside the folder c:/temp.

12.3 RUNNING FROM A REMOVABLE MEDIA

It is possible to run vna/J from a removable media, i.e. a memory stick. This media then can be used
to launch vna/J on another machine if the following prerequisites on the other machine are satisfied:

• A JAVA runtime environment is installed

• The FTDI drivers are installed

Copy all files from the local installation directory to a directory on the removable media.

Create yourself a start-up script (Windows-batch file, Linux-shell script) to launch vna/J with this
command:
java -Duser.home=./config -jar vnaj.2.7.0jar

Where “./config” is the name of the directory where all vna/J configurations are stored.

You can also copy the calibration files from local machine (/*.cal) to the calibration directory on the
removable media.

12.4 HOW CAN I CHANGE THE NUMBER OF SAMPLES FOR A SCAN?

The number of samples is directly linked to the horizontal size of the image panel. If you need more
samples (finer resolution) resize the vna/J windows accordingly.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

12.5 SERIAL PORT ON LINUX CANNOT BE OPENED

If you’re running vna/J on Linux and you have problems using the selected serial port, try to add your
Linux user to the user-groups tty and dialout. This sometimes fixes the problem.

12.6 NO SERIAL PORTS DISPLAYED ON LINUX

If you’re running vna/J on Linux and no serial ports are displayed in the Setup-dialog, Pekka (OH2BSC)
found a solution for his environment and posted it on the YAHOO Group2.
1. When I tried to open the analyzer window and choose the device I didn't
get any list of available ports. This was solved by installing the genu-
ine Oracle Java. I used these instructions:

http://www.webupd8.org/2012/01/install-oracle-java-jdk-7-in-ubuntu-
via.html

I didn't delete the icedtea jre or openjdk since the process defines Or-
acle Java 1.7 as a default java. However I restarted the system, just in
case.

2. Everything seemed to be OK, I was able to use the latest version 3.1.0
and all other versions I tried. Unfortunately when I tried to use vnaJ
the next day, after shutting down my laptop for the night, no version
beyond 2.8.6f worked anymore. I was able to open the software and choose
the analyzer, I could see the port but when I tried to activate the port
(clicking the Test button) I saw the error message "Failed to open
port". When trying to activate the port, an error message also appeared
in my syslog telling, that org.freedesktop.xxx... could not be activated
because nss-myhostname was not installed.

nss-myhostname seems to be a more stable solution to maintain host names

in ubuntu than the normal /etc/hosts. So I installed the file libnss-
hostname from ubuntu repository and now it seems the problem is solved.
More info about nss-myhostname can be found here:

http://0pointer.de/lennart/projects/nss-myhostname/

I have tried to verify this solution by installing several versions of

vnaJ on two computers, one desktop running 32bit Intel and a laptop run-
ning 64bit AMD, both running Ubuntu 14.04LTS. Both seem to be working
now without any hiccups.

2
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/analyzer_iw3hev/conversations/topics/7251
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 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

12.7 REPORTING A PROBLEM

If you encounter any problems with vna/J please provide me the following details in your error re-
port. Without these information, I cannot assist you effectively.

12.7.1 Operating system

Provide me some details regarding the operating system you're using (i.e. Type, Name, Version,
Patch level …)

12.7.2 JAVA environment

Open a command shell in your operating system and enter the following command:
java -version

This should give you a display like this:

Send me the information displayed after you've entered the command.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

12.7.3 vna/J startup info

Open a command shell in your operating system and enter the following command:
java -jar vnaJ.2.7.0.jar

Replace the name of the jar-file with the one, you're using. This should give a display like this:

Send me the information displayed after you've entered the command.

12.7.4 vna/J
Send me screenshots of the errors, you've found in the application with a detailed description, how I
can reproduce this problem.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

12.8 ENABLE LOGGING

To debug problems using this application, it may be sometime necessary to enable the build in log-
ging of the application.

Please follow these steps:

1. Open a command line window and navigate to the directory, where you've stored the JAR-
file.

2. Launch the application by entering

java -jar vnaJ????.jar 1>trace.txt 2>error.txt

in the command line window.

Note: Replace ??? with the current name of the JAR you are currently using.

3. Now the application should start as usual.

4. Open the settings dialog (menu FILE/SETTINGS)

5. Check the box "Enable tracing"

6. Close the settings dialog using the "Save" button

7. Now try to reproduce the failure etc.

8. When finished reproducing the error, reopen the settings dialog.

9. Uncheck the box "Enable tracing"

10. Close the settings dialog using the "Save" button

11. Close the application via the menu FILE/EXIT

12. Send the files trace.txt and error.txt together with a detailed description of your environ-
ment (hardware, software …) and the found problem to vnaj@dl2sba.de.

13. … hope ☺

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

12.9 APPLICATION DOES NOT START

First of all, try to remove all previously created configuration information.

This can be easily done, by renaming the configuration directory as outlined in chapter Configuration
on page 105 to a different name (i.e. vnaJ.2.9 to vnaJ.2.9.old)

When the application is restarted, the directories are recreated and the settings are initialized with
default values.

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

13LINKS

http://vnaj.dl2sba.com

My homepage for vna/J

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/analyzer_iw3hev

An active YAHOO group related to the miniVNA as well as the miniVNA PRO.

In the files sections under Files > Subjects - Off Topic - (Brainstorming) > SUSE Install for
DL2SBA app. find a detailled guide how-to install the stuff on UBUNTU as well as SUSES Linux
versions.

http://www.miniradiosolutions.com

Company that produces the miniVNA as well as the miniVNA PRO

http://max6.pl

Company that produces the MAX6

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 vna/J - Users guide - V 2.7.x

14LICENSE

14.1 DUTCH
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Namensnennung-NichtKommerziell-
KeineBearbeitung 3.0 Niederlande License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/nl/ or send a letter to Creative Com-
mons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

14.2 ENGLISH
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Namensnennung-NichtKommerziell-
KeineBearbeitung 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons,
444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

14.3 DEUTSCH
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Namensnennung-NichtKommerziell-
KeineBearbeitung 3.0 Deutschland License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de/ or send a letter to Creative Com-
mons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

© Dietmar Krause, DL2SBA 2010 139 / 139