My local club has equipment lying areound to build a portale repeater. So far, I figured how to programm those ancient gm350s. Currently working on retuning some cavity filters. Once that is done, the thing needs power (battery, solar, mains).
With a NanoVNA, you are limited by the number of data points the the sampling rate those points are read. While using an NanoVNA, it, indeed, is touchy and time consuming. While using an oscilloscope with a tracking generator, you see the results instantly and tuning is a breeze.
Also the dynamic range makes a huge difference. You have a hard time if your signal drops into the devices noise level when locking for a minimum. I am lucky to know people with the right equipment.
I want one of those, but I want a better band selection, like 40-30-20-17-15. I think those are the best for SOTA and POTA. Maybe when the rush dies down Hans will release one 🤞