[Elecraft] What's a panadapter?

[Robert Johansen]

Hi Peter,

A Panadaptor gets its name from an abbreviation of  Panoramic receiver
display adaptor.

Its purpose is to allow the radio operator to see what signals are within
the band of frequencies that he is operating.

For example instead of manually tuning or scanning the receiver to find a
station to contact. The Panadaptor will show all of  signals within a few
hundred KiloHertz. Some adaptors have the provision for a Mouse like
control where you can move the cursor over a signals peak and the click
the Mouse, the receiver will be automatically tuned to the frequency.

It also provides valuable information on whether there are any strong
adjacent channel signals that you may want to avoid to have some control
over interference.

See this link for a historical reference: 
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~postr/bapix/Panadap.htm

73,
Bob Johansen WB2SRF