I just got my nano vna2 and it will probably become my most used piece of gear for a while. I'm currently prototyping a coherrent x4 sdr reciever, and I dont like sending of for pcb so I do a lot of home toner transfer and freehand milling on Roger's pcb. This thing will be a lifesaver for microstrip above frequencys my my scope and awg cant do bode plots!

Anyways I'll be looking at it a whole lot and a 4 inch screen would be great, I see some people here have already done that but I'm not real sure what the procedure is or exactly what screen has to be purchased for the upgrade. My pcb is labeled S-A-A v2 if that makes a difference.

Lastly looking through the pdf manual it says that the side LEDs indicate battery life, my vna did not come with a battery, nor do I see any documentation on adding one. I have a bunch of flat lipos from blowing up those cheap ebay transistor testers, but I'm not sure if the vna even has charging capabilities built in or if that's something I'll have to do myself? Googling shows the original nanovna had lipo charging support but there is like no info out there on the nanovna2.

Robert,
Here is a link to the schematic, it should answer some questions about the battery management (yes, it has charging capability). There should be a 2 pin connector on the board for the battery, or at least holes for such a connector.
https://groups.io/g/NanoVNAV2/files/User%20Manuals,%20How2,%20Examples/Gabriel%20v2_2%20schematic.pdf
--John Gord

On Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 07:08 PM, Robert Gast wrote:

>
> I just got my nano vna2 and it will probably become my most used piece of
> gear for a while. I'm currently prototyping a coherrent x4 sdr reciever,
> and I dont like sending of for pcb so I do a lot of home toner transfer
> and freehand milling on Roger's pcb. This thing will be a lifesaver for
> microstrip above frequencys my my scope and awg cant do bode plots!
>
> Anyways I'll be looking at it a whole lot and a 4 inch screen would be
> great, I see some people here have already done that but I'm not real sure
> what the procedure is or exactly what screen has to be purchased for the
> upgrade. My pcb is labeled S-A-A v2 if that makes a difference.
>
> Lastly looking through the pdf manual it says that the side LEDs indicate
> battery life, my vna did not come with a battery, nor do I see any
> documentation on adding one. I have a bunch of flat lipos from blowing up
> those cheap ebay transistor testers, but I'm not sure if the vna even has
> charging capabilities built in or if that's something I'll have to do
> myself? Googling shows the original nanovna had lipo charging support but
> there is like no info out there on the nanovna2.

And adding 4 inch is easy...

Fire up v2 with left button pressed

Start vnaqt soft and connect to device

Soft will say there seems to be a device in dfu mode... Do you wanna flash fw?

Click yes... Wait a few seconds

Done

Now you can put the 4 inch on

Or you can plug it on before connecting to pc

Does not matter if you change the lcd before or after flashing fw

So... Add a battery... 1000 to 3000mah lipo...

Flash fw for 4 inch

Have fun

Dg9bfc sigi

Ps i also added a 4 inch on my v2



Am 22.09.2020 06:46 schrieb "John Gord via groups.io"
<johngord=verizon.net@groups.io>:

> Robert,
> Here is a link to the schematic, it should answer some questions about the
battery management (yes, it has charging capability). There should be a 2 pin
connector on the board for the battery, or at least holes for such a
connector.
>
<https://groups.io/g/NanoVNAV2/files/User%20Manuals,%20How2,%20Examples/Gabriel%20v2_2%20schematic.pdf>
> \--John Gord
>
> On Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 07:08 PM, Robert Gast wrote:
>

>

>> I just got my nano vna2 and it will probably become my most used piece of
gear for a while. I'm currently prototyping a coherrent x4 sdr reciever, and I
dont like sending of for pcb so I do a lot of home toner transfer and freehand
milling on Roger's pcb. This thing will be a lifesaver for microstrip above
frequencys my my scope and awg cant do bode plots!
>
> Anyways I'll be looking at it a whole lot and a 4 inch screen would be
great, I see some people here have already done that but I'm not real sure
what the procedure is or exactly what screen has to be purchased for the
upgrade. My pcb is labeled S-A-A v2 if that makes a difference.
>
> Lastly looking through the pdf manual it says that the side LEDs indicate
battery life, my vna did not come with a battery, nor do I see any
documentation on adding one. I have a bunch of flat lipos from blowing up
those cheap ebay transistor testers, but I'm not sure if the vna even has
charging capabilities built in or if that's something I'll have to do myself?
Googling shows the original nanovna had lipo charging support but there is
like no info out there on the nanovna2.



_._,_._,_

* * *

Thanks, but I'm still unsure what lcd to buy. Is there any specific LCD module with pin compatability? What is the LCD driver chip being used on the 4inch display?

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08F7WGNRB/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_5xwnFbC3TYY9A

driver ic st7796s

same can be found on aliexpress

i had to desolder the sd card holder but its not used anyway ...

so more or less direct drop in

dg9bfc sigi

Am 22.09.2020 um 15:42 schrieb Robert Gast:

> Thanks, but I'm still unsure what lcd to buy. Is there any specific
> LCD module with pin compatability? What is the LCD driver chip being
> used on the 4inch display?
>

Awesome, thank you!

I had a pretty cool idea though for when I'm using on the bench. I use a
raspi to control all my test gear with SCPI over ethernet. The nanovna
software is in at so I'm assuming its cross platform, I'll just use
vnasaver on the pi so I can get a nice 20 inch view while im at the bench!

I wanted to add the 4 inch screen and make an aluminum case, but i just
read there are some kind of frequency reflections when there are metal
sides placed over the sides? Maybe some near field probes and extra pcb
shielding can solve that?

On Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 10:25 AM Siegfried Jackstien <
siegfried.jackstien@freenet.de> wrote:

> https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08F7WGNRB/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_5xwnFbC3TYY9A
>
> driver ic st7796s
>
> same can be found on aliexpress
>
> i had to desolder the sd card holder but its not used anyway ...
>
> so more or less direct drop in
>
> dg9bfc sigi
> Am 22.09.2020 um 15:42 schrieb Robert Gast:
>
> Thanks, but I'm still unsure what lcd to buy. Is there any specific LCD
> module with pin compatability? What is the LCD driver chip being used on
> the 4inch display?
>
>
>

I've recently purchased such an 4" screen on aliexpress ( this one ( https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/4001212025453.html ) ), no pb.

( https://nextcloud.sdfa3.org/s/RQkBsKnJY2W4q2D/download )

I'm about to make a PCB to mount this bigger lcd module properly on the nanovna (just a pair of pin headers and a few holes for the screws).

David

david

i dropped you a direct mail about your adaptor pcb

nice idea (but i have a few more ... grin)

greetz sigi dg9bfc

Am 22.09.2020 um 20:05 schrieb David Douard:

> I've recently purchased such an 4" screen on aliexpress (this one
> <https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/4001212025453.html>), no pb.
>
> <https://nextcloud.sdfa3.org/s/RQkBsKnJY2W4q2D/download>
>
> I'm about to make a PCB to mount this bigger lcd module properly on
> the nanovna (just a pair of pin headers and a few holes for the screws).
>
>
>
> David
>

Ok Sigi I get it many thanks ,73 Dave stay safe

> On 29 Sep 2020, at 16:27, Siegfried Jackstien <siegfried.jackstien@freenet.de> wrote:
>
> 
> david
>
> i dropped you a direct mail about your adaptor pcb
>
> nice idea (but i have a few more ... grin)
>
> greetz sigi dg9bfc
>
> Am 22.09.2020 um 20:05 schrieb David Douard:
>> I've recently purchased such an 4" screen on aliexpress (this one), no pb.
>>
>> <IMG_20200922_215954.jpg>
>>
>>
>> I'm about to make a PCB to mount this bigger lcd module properly on the nanovna (just a pair of pin headers and a few holes for the screws).
>>
>> <nanovns2-4in-breadboard.png>
>>
>>
>> David
>

and another one ... grin :-)

dg9bfc sigi

Am 29.09.2020 um 17:00 schrieb David Bradley:

> Ok Sigi I get it many thanks ,73 Dave stay safe
>
>
>> On 29 Sep 2020, at 16:27, Siegfried Jackstien
>> <siegfried.jackstien@freenet.de> wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> david
>>
>> i dropped you a direct mail about your adaptor pcb
>>
>> nice idea (but i have a few more ... grin)
>>
>> greetz sigi dg9bfc
>>
>> Am 22.09.2020 um 20:05 schrieb David Douard:
>>> I've recently purchased such an 4" screen on aliexpress (this one
>>> <https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/4001212025453.html>), no pb.
>>>
>>> <IMG_20200922_215954.jpg>
>>> <https://nextcloud.sdfa3.org/s/RQkBsKnJY2W4q2D/download>
>>>
>>> I'm about to make a PCB to mount this bigger lcd module properly on
>>> the nanovna (just a pair of pin headers and a few holes for the screws).
>>>
>>> <nanovns2-4in-breadboard.png>
>>>
>>>
>>> David
>

Wow Sigi ur on a roll mate 👍👍

> On 29 Sep 2020, at 18:38, Siegfried Jackstien <siegfried.jackstien@freenet.de> wrote:
>
> 
> and another one ... grin :-)
>
> dg9bfc sigi
>
> Am 29.09.2020 um 17:00 schrieb David Bradley:
>> Ok Sigi I get it many thanks ,73 Dave stay safe
>>
>>
>>> On 29 Sep 2020, at 16:27, Siegfried Jackstien <siegfried.jackstien@freenet.de> wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>> david
>>>
>>> i dropped you a direct mail about your adaptor pcb
>>>
>>> nice idea (but i have a few more ... grin)
>>>
>>> greetz sigi dg9bfc
>>>
>>> Am 22.09.2020 um 20:05 schrieb David Douard:
>>>> I've recently purchased such an 4" screen on aliexpress (this one), no pb.
>>>>
>>>> <IMG_20200922_215954.jpg>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I'm about to make a PCB to mount this bigger lcd module properly on the nanovna (just a pair of pin headers and a few holes for the screws).
>>>>
>>>> <nanovns2-4in-breadboard.png>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> David
>

So I've sent my quick'n'dirty PCB design (along with a more serious one to share the shipment price) with only the LCD connection "shift". As Siegfried mentioned, there is room for improvement, but as I had no time (I wanted my other PCB to be sent, so I ruch this out a bit).

Nonetheless, nowI have a few of them (you know how this works nowdays), so if someone is interested, I can sell some for a few bucks (+shipping).

Here is the result:

I've used 12mm spacers, so the resulting "sandwitch" is pretty thick. It's also the price to pay to keep a pin header connector between the LCD and the breakout board. Soldering a board to board header between these 2 boards would allow to reduce the space between them to a couple of millimeters.

David