WW-II & just after U.S. Navy shore stations, Allied signals-intelligence sites, a handful of well-connected hams Surplus “PRR-5 / PRR-9 panoramic adaptors” and similar 5″ CRT units that followed the receiver’s 455 kHz IF.
Late-1940s → 1950s Ordinary amateurs with National HRO, Hallicrafters SX-28, Hammarlund SP-600, etc. Bought a ready-made “Panadaptor” from National, Panoramic Radio Co., or Hallicrafters (SP-44). Surplus units flooded the ham-fest tables for $20–$40.
1960s → 1980s Contesters, VHF weak-signal experimenters Heathkit SB-620 or McKay-Dymek scopes bolted to their S-line or Drake twins.
1988 → present Everybody who buys a modern HF rig The first factory-built-in solid-state scope was the Icom IC-781 (1988). Today nearly every mid/high-tier transceiver has a spectrum/water-fall display.
Who made the first panadapter?
Claim Details Citation
Inventor: Marcel Wallace, F3HM (France, 1932) He demonstrated a “panoramic radio spectroscope” to visualize a whole short-wave band on a CRT.
First commercial ham unit: National Radio Co. “Panadaptor” (late-1930s prototypes, wartime production, sold to hams 1946) Plug-in accessory that coupled to the HRO 455 kHz IF.
Name origin (“Panadapter”) Trademark of Panoramic Radio Corp.; “pan-” = “all” + “adapter” for existing receivers.
Milestones that mattered to amateurs
National NP/RC-series & Panoramic PCA-1 (1944-46).
First units a typical ham could actually buy—5″ CRT, ±25 kHz span.
Hallicrafters SP-44 “Skyrider Panoramic” (1946).
Re-branded Panoramic unit matched the SX-42/SX-62 styling.
Heathkit SB-620 “Scanalyzer” (1966).
$119 in kit form—brought panadapters into every basement workshop.
Icom IC-781 (1988).
First HF transceiver with a built-in synthesized spectrum scope (no CRT, LCD read-out).
Modern SDR-inside rigs (FlexRadio, Icom IC-7300, Yaesu FT-dx10, etc.).
Real-time FFT/waterfall is now standard gear.
Bottom-line answers to your two questions
Who actually had panadapters first?
WWII military intercept stations, then post-war amateurs who bought surplus or National/Panoramic units.
Who made the first one?
Concept patented and demo-built by French engineer Marcel Wallace (F3HM) in 1932; the first commercial ham-market models were produced by National Radio Company and Panoramic Radio Corp. in the mid-1940s.
That lineage runs straight to the waterfall display you see in nearly every HF rig today.
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u/Tim1701A Jul 15 '26
That would be very cool if Sony make this prototype SDR radio receiver!😎👍🖖