About the project
An attempt at a 20 GHz vector network analyzer.
The idea
A Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) is an instrument that measures the complex S-parameters of RF/microwave devices over a range of frequencies. It shows both magnitude and phase, allowing you to characterize reflection, transmission, impedance, return loss, insertion loss, and VSWR. Commercial units covering tens of gigahertz cost a small fortune. This project is an attempt to build a usable VNA that reaches up to 20 GHz on a reasonable hobby budget, and to document every step so others can build on the work.
Current status
The project is at an early stage and there is no finished product yet — this is part of the journey.
What will be published here
- Progress updates — short posts describing what was done, tested and learned
- Photos — build pictures from the workbench
- Measurement data — S-parameter plots together with the raw files so anyone can re-plot or analyse the numbers themselves
- Build notes — documentation of design decisions and experiments as they happen
Updates policy
This website is maintained alongside the project and will be updated as progress happens. If nothing has changed for a while, it simply means the bench work is taking longer than the writing. New measurements and files will appear in the Updates section.
Source
The repository for this site lives on GitHub: patryksi11/20ghz-vna-blog.
Contact
Comment on the Reddit thread, or reach out via the Contact page — questions, ideas and criticism are welcome.