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Panadapter Controls
Jeremy Fielder edited this page Mar 19, 2026
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3 revisions
The panadapter is the main display area showing the FFT spectrum (top) and scrolling waterfall (bottom).
- FFT spectrum — real-time frequency vs. signal strength
- Frequency scale — between FFT and waterfall, shows MHz
- Waterfall — scrolling time vs. frequency heatmap
- dBm scale — right edge of FFT, draggable
- Time scale — right edge of waterfall, shows elapsed seconds
- Band plan — bottom 8px of FFT, color-coded ARRL sub-bands
| Action | FFT Area | Waterfall Area | Frequency Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single click + drag | Pan display | Pan display | Zoom bandwidth |
| Double-click | Tune to frequency | Tune to frequency | — |
| Scroll wheel | Tune by step size | Tune by step size | — |
| Right-click | Context menu (Add TNF, Close Slice) | Context menu | — |
Click and drag the divider bar between the FFT and waterfall to resize. The split ratio persists across sessions.
- Drag the scale strip up/down to shift the reference level
- Click arrows (▲▼) at the top to step the scale
- The scale uses adaptive 1-2-5 step labels
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| AVG | FFT averaging depth (0-100). Higher = smoother trace |
| FPS | FFT frame rate (5-30) |
| Fill | FFT fill opacity (0-100) + color picker |
| Weighted Average | On/Off — uses weighted averaging algorithm |
| Gain | Waterfall color intensity |
| Black | Waterfall noise floor threshold (higher = darker noise) |
| Auto | Auto black level from native waterfall tiles |
| Rate | Waterfall tile delivery rate (1-30) |
The bottom 8px of the FFT shows ARRL band allocations:
- Blue — CW
- Red — Data/Digital
- Orange — Phone/SSB
- Cyan — Beacons
- White dots — spot frequencies (QRP calling, SSTV, etc.) — hover for tooltip
License class brightness: Extra (dim) → General (medium) → Technician (bright)
When you pan the display so the VFO frequency is off-screen, a two-line label appears showing:
- Slice letter + TX status + chevron direction
- VFO frequency
Double-click the indicator to recenter on the VFO.
- Panadapter Controls
- VFO Widget
- RX Controls
- TX Controls
- Aetherial Audio
- Multi-Slice Operation
- Diversity and ESC
- TNF (Tracking Notch Filters)
- Memory Channels
- Profile Management
- Slice Colors
- XVTR (Transverters)
- CWX Panel
- CW Decoder
- DVK Panel
- RTTY Operation
- RADE Digital Voice
- DAX Virtual Audio
- DAX IQ Streaming
- WSJT-X Integration
- CAT Control
- TCI Server