A staple of the WWII submarine movies, that command by the Captain or OOD was so that the literally blind submersed submarine could assess the physical situation on the surface.
For us hams we should "up periscope" when it comes to our station equipment and antennas. That is where having a SDR radio is a great "up periscope". Even if I will be operating a homebrew rig or old boat anchor, the SDR lets me see the whole band to get a snapshot view of the band activity in literally real time.
Yes, you could take your non-SDR radio and tune up and down the band and that would yield a small snippet in 2.7 kHz chunks. But it would be hard to look at the whole band activity in one view using this approach. Your Nano VNA likely would not help but the Tiny SA would certainly give a larger view of the band activity.
There are those who would posit who cares about total band activity. This is on par with the old blind date axiom, and you get what you get. When I was the OIC of the Advanced Party returning from Vietnam, the CO's XYL thought I needed a blind date. Wow what a score -- she was a knockout looking blonde with a body to match. There was only one problem, I stood 5'6" and she was 6'6". It was a fun evening and totally delightful. So not all bad and the non-SDR radio will get many QSOs.
Given my home situation and my limited operating time, I need to be efficient when I get on the air. Certainly, having a view of the whole band lets me maximize that operating time.
Up periscope is also appropriate in our current political environment.
So, here is a photo to attract blog readers otherwise no one looks. I have the data -- no photos results in fewer readers.
This is an up periscope for an LCR Meter. I would acquire this jewel given a choice of a Nano VNA or LCR meter. Costing about $130 at Lauren Sanchez's boyfriend gift shop, it is a great sub for the AADE unit no longer available.
Up Periscope TYGNYBNT
73's
Pete N6QW