This will help you to build an antenna:
They sell sma connectors to solder wires onto on eBay.
There website says to purchase AURSINC manufactured VNAs on Amazon. That’s reliable right? If so I’d purchase this https://www.amazon.com/【Upgraded】AURSINC-Analyzer-Measuring-Parameters-Standing/dp/B07Z5VY7B6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=NanoVNA&m=A3KC9Z86M9XWS3&qid=1628045689&s=merchant-items&sr=1-1
The NanoVNA website recommends AURSINC for Amazon purchases. Do you think this would be reliable? https://www.amazon.com/【Upgraded】AURSINC-Analyzer-Measuring-Parameters-Standing/dp/B07Z5VY7B6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=NanoVNA&m=A3KC9Z86M9XWS3&qid=1628045689&s=merchant-items&sr=1-1
Some are using low cost VNAs for this purpose. Like this... https://www.amazon.com/【Upgraded】AURSINC-Analyzer-Measuring-Parameters-Standing/dp/B07Z5VY7B6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=G00ZBTH02WJA&dchild=1&keywords=vna&qid=1608783416&sprefix=Vna%2Caps%2C246&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcn...
73
FWICT, the NanoVNA-H (Amazon, same seller as OP, Gigaparts) only goes to 900 MHz. They mention on nanovna.com about going to 1.5 GHz. Is there a newer, yet-unreleased version that is capable of 3.5 GHz?
It's not as good as my RigExpert but it's also a fraction of the cost and it's what I used to tune my HF vertical after I installed it. It definitely gets the job done. These can be a pretty useful tool and can measure a lot more than just SWR so they're handy to have around. The range on that one is wide enough that it'll do almost everything you need.
Watch some videos on youtube on how to use a NanoVNA. There is a bit of a learning curve and a calibration process to go through. When you start investigating that antenna you can sweep a fairly wide bandwidth to see where the SWR dips and then narrow it down from there. These only measure something like one or two hundred points per sweep so you'll want to narrow your sweep range as you start to zero in on where the antenna is resonant to give you the best resolution.
I did not use an analyzer, which do you recommend? Something like this https://www.amazon.com/AURSINC-NanoVNA-H-Vector-Network-Analyzer/dp/B07Z5VY7B6/ or this https://www.amazon.com/Astatic-302-PDC2-Field-Strength-Meter/dp/B000KEUFME ? Or something completely different? I am still learning =)
​
For the ground plane, I have it in the middle of the roof of my car.
This is the “AURSINC nano vna-h”… I paid $60 on Amazon.
Here’s a link nano vna
Here is the one with SMA connectors:
Here is one with with N connectors (the one I own):
https://www.amazon.com/AURSINC-Analyzer-50KHz-3GHz-Measuring-Parameters/dp/B08G4GXTKK/
Other than the connectors, the one with the N connectors goes to 3 GHz.
If you're looking for a DIY project and can solder, you could build a 1:9 unun and pair it with a random wire. I use speaker wire, or individual strands of cat5e ethernet cable.
Here's one unun guide, here's another with a bit more explanation and math.
For the wire antenna part, start with a quarter wavelength of your target frequency. If that means it's really short, go for half wavelength - conversely, if it's really long, go eighth wavelength. Experimentation will help a lot here, and thats why I use speaker wire - it's cheap and easy to cut or connect.
If you want to be a bit more technical about it, you could buy one of these and build a set of matching antennas for different frequencies. That device does a lot of things, but the primary use for it here is to measure your SWR to ensure you have a good match for whatever you are wanting to listen to.
There's a LOT of other general antenna types, but without more specificity, random wire is going to be your cheapest and most general coverage. Vertical polarization? Just hang the wire up. Horizontal, lay it on the ground. As with all antennas, height above average terrain is going to be key! Get that wire outside, hang it off your deck, I've even run one along my wooden fenceline.
Good luck, and have fun!
Please use clean amazon links to prevent your message from being flagged as spam by reddit. Thanks.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z5VY7B6/
Please message the mods to comment on this message or action.
There's Amazon, same seller as OP and Gigaparts, but while they are the NanoVNA-H (the "upgraded" version) it looks like it only goes to 900 MHz.