Which kit do I need?
Three questions decide it.
1. What connector is on your VNA?
- SMA or 3.5mm ports (NanoVNA, LibreVNA, most USB VNAs, Keysight and R&S 3.5mm instruments): a 3.5mm kit. 3.5mm standards mate with SMA and are mechanically more consistent, which is why we use them.
- Type N ports (many bench VNAs, antenna and cable work): a Type N kit.
- A LibreVNA or another VNA with electronic calibration support: consider LibreCAL. One USB-C module replaces the Open, Short, Load and Thru shuffle on up to four ports.
2. What gender do you need?
Standards are named for the gender of the standard itself. A VNA with a female port needs a male kit; a male port, or a cable with a female end, needs a female kit. If you measure both cable-ended and board-mounted devices you will want both, which is what the male and female kits are for.
3. How much accuracy do you need?
- Base: individually measured, so you know exactly what you have. The load is not specified to a return-loss figure; its data file tells you. Fine for most NanoVNA and LibreVNA work and far better than the loads in the box with those instruments.
- Economy: loads specified better than 36 dB return loss to at least 6 GHz, and the full data to 8.5 GHz. This is the tier most working engineers should buy.
- Precision: loads better than 40 dB to at least 9 GHz, phase-matched adapters and a torque wrench. For measurements that go in a report.
Should I add the 20 GHz measurement upgrade?
If your VNA goes past 8.5 GHz, yes. The standards are physically usable well beyond their specified range; the upgrade replaces the 8.5 or 9 GHz data set with one measured to 20 GHz, so your VNA can error-correct to 20 GHz with the same kit.
Should I add a verification standard?
Always a good idea, especially with a new VNA. The SMA verification load buys you the ability to prove your calibration is doing what you think it is.
Three tiers, one method
| Base | Economy | Precision | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | NanoVNA, LibreVNA, hobby and teaching labs | Working engineers, small labs, universities | When the measurement is the deliverable |
| Connectors | 3.5mm M or F | 3.5mm M, F or both; Type N M or F | 3.5mm M and F |
| Load return loss | Individually measured, data supplied | Better than 36 dB to 6 GHz | Better than 40 dB to 9 GHz |
| Data supplied to | 8.5 GHz | 8.5 GHz | 9 GHz |
| Touchstone and polynomial models | Included | Included | Included |
| Phase-matched adapters | - | Optional | Included |
| Torque wrench | - | Optional | Included |
| 20 GHz data upgrade | Available | Available | Available |
| From (NZD) | $150 | $345 | $4,250 |
Still not sure? Contact us with your VNA model and what you are measuring. You will get a straight answer, not an upsell.