TinyPFA phase frequency analyser

The TinyPFA is a portable phase frequency analyser that can measure frequency and phase differences between the signals applied to both inputs very accurately. It consist of the hardware of a NanoVNA-H4 and special software, only suitable for this hardware.

The analyser has a 3.95" touch-screen and input frequency that can be between 1 MHz and 300 MHz. Typical use would be measuring the differences between two 10 MHz clocks. The TinyPFA can numerically display the phase and frequency difference, show the measurement in a graph versus time, store the measurements on a SD card or send the phase measurements over USB to a PC, running a program such as TimeLab, for further display and processing.

Phase and frequency measurement accuracy is better than 1E-12 divided by the measurement time in seconds with decimation set to 1. Be aware that the maximum frequency difference that can be displayed depends on the measurement time (Tau). This is approximately 200Hz / (Tau in s) so for Tau is 1 s it is 200 Hz maximum difference.

The designer has made an elaborate Wiki page with all guide steps and more information.

Take note that the TinyPFA's internal reference is not accurate, not stable, so it is not suitable for high accuracy frequency measurements. Only the external inputs with an accurate and stable source can be used for accurate measurements.

Specifications

Accessories

The TinyPFA comes by default with:

• USB-C cable
• 2x 15 cm SMA male-male TG316 RF cable