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Panadapter Controls

Jeremy Fielder edited this page Mar 29, 2026 · 3 revisions

Panadapter Controls

The panadapter is the main display area showing the FFT spectrum (top) and scrolling waterfall (bottom).

Layout

  • 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

Mouse Controls

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

FFT/Waterfall Split

Click and drag the divider bar between the FFT and waterfall to resize. The split ratio persists across sessions.

dBm Scale (Right Edge of FFT)

  • 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

Display Settings (Left Sidebar → Display)

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)

Band Plan Overlay

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)

Off-Screen VFO Indicator

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.

Status Bar Controls

The status bar at the bottom of the main window contains:

  • +PAN icon — painted spectrum waveform with + sign. Click to add a panadapter (multi-pan mode). Tooltip: "Add Panadapter"
  • ☰ (hamburger) — toggle the right applet panel visibility. Cyan when panel is shown, dim when hidden. Also available via View → Applet Panel.

Applet Panel

The right-side applet panel hosts all radio controls (VU, RX, TX, PHNE, P/CW, EQ, DIGI, etc.).

Collapsing the Panel

Click the ☰ hamburger icon in the status bar (or use View → Applet Panel) to hide the panel. The spectrum/waterfall expands to fill the freed space. State persists across restarts.

Reordering Applets

Each applet has a draggable title bar with ⋮⋮ grip dots. Drag the title bar to reorder applets in the panel. The order persists across restarts.

To restore the default order: View → Reset Applet Order.

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