Sark-110 VNA
The Sark 110 Vector Network Analyzer has been a welcomed addition to my workbench. I’ve had one of the MFJ series of analyzers for a number of years. They are small RF Labs in a box and I use my MFJ-269 frequently. But there are times and situations where a vector network analyzer, even a one-port model, is useful. When it’s about the size of a pack of playing cards, only thinner, that can be a real handy thing! The Sark 110 from Seeed Studio is the one I purchased from SteppIR once they became the U.S. distributor. This post is not a review of the Sark 110 but a note about an upgrade to the connector fitting for the Test Input Port that is located on one edge of the device.
The Sark 110 has a female MCX connector as the Test Input Port. But the small handheld device is weak in using it with coax cabling that is heavier and can pull the entire device around at will. Using an MCX-to-other connector pigtail places strain on the input port. I keep my Sark 110 in a small zipper cover that has small pockets for these pigtails (and calibration loads but that’s another story) that go to a BNC or SO-239 connector. But I’ve been concerned about breaking the connector port for some time now. Well, no longer.
I ran across a Youtube video on an upgrade kit for the connector. I bought this kit via eBay for about $15 and it shipped quickly. The Youtube video shows you how to mod the rubber skin cover if you have that too. I bought that from Seeed Studio (see here) and think it’s cool beans for protecting the Sark 110. It took about 15 minutes with an Xacto knife to modify the rubber skin so that the mounting bridge to fit. I’m no surgeon with a scalpel but the Youtube video shows how to make the cuts and it worked very easily. I’m very pleased with how that worked out.
The pictures below show the various angles for this bolt on 3D printed mount protecting the Input Port connector. In the kit, there are longer M2 bolts that replace two of the original bolts holding the back plate. Keep those if you ever need to remove the upgrade kit. The kit kindly provides an M2 Allen-style tool to remove and install these bolts. In addition, there is a fitted cowl (not shown here) to snugly slide on to the SMA connector for the supplied pigtail out to a BNC connector. This really helps attach and unattach the pigtail which I do to put the Sark 110 into the zippered pouch that I store all things Sark in.
If you have a Sark 110, this is the bomb!
Front (picture too blurry!)
Rear showing rubber skin and bridge mount
End View with Test Port
Another end view with support bracket