Calibration Service
Network Analyzer Calibration in Orange County & Los Angeles
A vector network analyzer is the instrument your S-parameter data inherits its credibility from, which makes its own calibration record the foundation everything else rests on. American Gage calibrates VNAs on dedicated, MET/CAL-driven RF racks under A2LA ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.
Automation
Automated MET/CAL RF racks
Parameters
RF power, frequency, time & frequency
Adjustment
Firmware level where supported
Turnaround
7–10 business days (expedited available)
User calibration is not instrument calibration
This distinction causes more confusion than any other question we get about VNAs. Running a SOLT or TRL routine with a cal kit before a measurement corrects for your fixturing and cabling on that day — it does not establish that the analyzer itself is performing to specification, and it does not produce a traceable record an auditor can follow.
Accredited instrument calibration is the separate exercise: verifying the analyzer against traceable standards, documenting as-found and as-left condition, stating measurement uncertainty, and issuing a certificate under an accredited scope. Quality systems require the second. Engineers often assume the first covers it, and find out otherwise during an audit.
Automated procedures across every point
We run purpose-built RF racks driven by the Fluke MET/CAL automated calibration system with a current procedure subscription. For a network analyzer that means the manufacturer’s procedure is executed in full, with measurement uncertainty computed at each test point and firmware-level adjustment applied where the instrument supports it.
Certificates document as-found and as-left readings, uncertainty, NIST traceability, and the ANSI/NCSL Z540.3 decision rule with TUR, under accreditation certificate 4296.01. Cal kits, calibration standards, and the attenuators and adapters in the same drawer can be handled alongside the analyzer — they drift too, and a verified analyzer used with an unverified kit is a partial answer.
Built for the programs that use them
VNAs in Southern California cluster where satellite, defense electronics, and semiconductor work does — El Segundo, the South Bay, Orange County’s aerospace supplier base. Those programs get audited against [AS9100](/resources/as9100-calibration-requirements) and Nadcap, where the certificate is read rather than glanced at: stated uncertainty, documented traceability, explicit decision rule, as-found condition.
Free pickup runs Orange County Monday and Wednesday, Los Angeles County Tuesday and Thursday, and the Inland Empire Friday, keeping the instrument in our custody the entire time. Standard turnaround is 7–10 business days, with [expedited service](/rush-calibration) available, and [on-site RF calibration](/on-site-rf-calibration) where the analyzer cannot leave.
What we see most
- Vector network analyzers (VNA)
- Scalar network analyzers
- Calibration kits & verification standards
- Attenuators & adapters
- Directional couplers
- RF power meters & sensors
Network Analyzer Calibration FAQs
We run a cal kit before every measurement. Do we still need this?
Yes. A SOLT or TRL user calibration corrects for your fixturing on that day; it does not verify the analyzer against traceable standards and produces no accredited record. Quality systems require the instrument calibration as a separate, documented exercise.
Do you calibrate the cal kit as well?
Yes, and we recommend it. Calibration standards and the adapters and attenuators used with them drift, and a verified analyzer paired with an unverified kit only answers half the question.
How often should a VNA be calibrated?
Twelve months is the common manufacturer specification and the usual quality-system default. As-found history from a few cycles is a better guide than a datasheet, and every certificate we issue records it.
Which brands do you handle?
Keysight and Agilent, Rohde & Schwarz, Anritsu, and most others, using manufacturer procedures through MET/CAL where available. Send us the model and we will confirm coverage first.
Need network analyzer calibration?
Send your list — manufacturer, model, quantity — and we'll return scope, pricing, and turnaround within one to two business days.