Spectrum & Vector Network Analyzers

The RF half of the bench. A spectrum analyzer shows energy vs. frequency; a VNA measures S-parameters (impedance, return loss, filter response) of passive networks and antennas. The 2018–2024 NanoVNA / TinySA wave made hobby RF affordable; 2025–26 brought serious 6 GHz coverage to <$400 budgets. Pair with Oscilloscopes for time-domain, Function Generators for stimulus, Circuit Simulation for prediction, and PCB / EDA Suites for the antenna boards you're tuning.

Hobby spectrum analyzers

• ★ TinySA Ultra — 100 kHz – 6 GHz handheld spectrum analyzer for ~$130. Touchscreen, tracking generator output to ~5 GHz, USB control. The right entry point for hobbyist RF in 2026. Open-source firmware.
• TinySA (original) — 100 kHz – 350 MHz with extended mode to ~960 MHz; ~$60. Still useful, but the Ultra is worth the upgrade.
• Siglent SSA3000X-Plus / SSA3000X-R — 9 kHz – 3.2 GHz benchtop SA with optional tracking generator. ~$1500–$2500. The "next step up" from TinySA.
• Siglent SVA1000X / SVA1015X — 9 kHz – 1.5/3.2 GHz combo SA + VNA in one box; ~$2500. Excellent value if you need both.
• Rigol DSA815-TG / RSA3030 — Rigol's bench SAs; DSA815-TG is the venerable cheap-bench-SA pick.
• Used HP/Agilent 8594E / 8595E / E4407B — eBay finds for $500–$2000; calibratable, big tube CRTs, still excellent for sub-GHz.

Vector network analyzers (VNAs)

• ★ NanoVNA-H4 / NanoVNA F V2 — 50 kHz – 1.5 GHz hobbyist VNAs for ~$50–$100. Touchscreen, USB. The standard "first VNA" — antenna tuning, filter response, cable fault location.
• ★ LiteVNA-64 — 50 kHz – 6.3 GHz pocket VNA for ~$170; the NanoVNA's bigger sibling that finally crossed into 5 GHz Wi-Fi territory.
• SAA-2N / NanoVNA V2 Plus4 — 50 kHz – 4.4 GHz; OwOComm's higher-end NanoVNA evolution.
• Siglent SVA1000X — see above; bench-class SA+VNA.
• Rigol RSA3045N / RSA5000N — Rigol's combo bench SA+VNA line.
• Copper Mountain Technologies S5085 / R140B — USB-tethered prosumer VNAs; pricier but lab-grade.
• Keysight FieldFox / N9914B — premium handheld VNA/SA combos for field RF; expensive but bulletproof.

SDR-as-spectrum-analyzer

• ★ RTL-SDR v4 — $30 USB DVB-T dongle hacked into a 24 MHz – 1.7 GHz general-purpose receiver. With SDR++ / Gqrx / CubicSDR / SDR# it's a perfectly good wideband spectrum visualizer for the cost of a sandwich.
• HackRF One — 1 MHz – 6 GHz half-duplex SDR transceiver; ~$330. Great Captain-of-the-spectrum tool, also useful as an AWG up to 6 GHz.
• Airspy R2 / HF+ Discovery — higher-quality narrowband SDRs for serious receive work.
• LimeSDR / PlutoSDR / USRP B-series — full-duplex SDRs with wider bandwidth; for protocol R&D more than benchtop measurement.
• SDR software: SDR++ (modern, FOSS, the 2026 default), Gqrx, SDR#, CubicSDR, GNU Radio for DSP work.

VNA / SA software

• ★ NanoVNA-Saver — FOSS desktop GUI for any NanoVNA / LiteVNA / SAA-2N. Calibration, S-parameter export, plotting. Active and the de-facto desktop client.
• NanoVNA-App (DiSlordVNA) — alternative desktop GUI with active firmware fork.
• TinySA Saver — FOSS PC client for TinySA / TinySA Ultra; sweep, capture, scripting.
• scikit-rf — Python library for S-parameter math (Touchstone files, de-embedding, calibration). Open source, MIT.
• OpenEMS — FDTD EM simulator; cross-link with Circuit Simulation.

License / pricing notes

• NanoVNA / TinySA / LiteVNA are all open-hardware-ish (designs and firmware on GitHub) but the BOM-clones from random sellers vary in build quality. Buy from reputable sellers (R&L, Hugen, OwOComm, ZeenkoTronics).
• Siglent / Rigol speak SCPI; LXI on most LAN-equipped models.
• RTL-SDR v4 and friends use FOSS host software end-to-end (libusb + SDR++).
• HP/Agilent used SAs are calibratable but check for tube CRT failures and missing options before buying.

Pick this if…

• Default hobbyist spectrum analyzer, 2026: TinySA Ultra.
• Default hobbyist VNA, 2026: NanoVNA-H4 (sub-GHz) or LiteVNA-64 (Wi-Fi-band capable).
• One bench box for SA+VNA, ~$2.5k: Siglent SVA1015X.
• Wideband receive only, $30 budget: RTL-SDR v4 + SDR++.
• Field RF / handheld pro: Keysight FieldFox.
• Used eBay bargain sub-GHz: HP 8594E.
• Programmatic S-parameter analysis: scikit-rf in Jupyter / Marimo.