NIRC observers may find the following procedure useful for setting up the instrument in the afternoon. Please ask your Support Astronomer (SA) for help if you have any questions.

1. Log into the data-taking computer as nirc, using the password supplied by your SA. Wait for the window system to finish its startup procedure.
2. Check the VNC server status. Using the desktop pulldown menu, go to:

    VNC->VNC status

   If no servers are running, please contact your support astronomer to start vnc servers
3. Start VNC viewers. Using the desktop menu select

    VNC -> Start VNC PRIMARY viewers 

   and enter the login information. Please contact you support astronomer for assistance.
4. In a maili window, type check_dcs_mode to check whether NIRC is set up to communicate with the drive and control system. If you get back the message

     You are talking to the REAL DCS

   Then proceed to the next step. If instead you get the message

     You are talking to the DCS Simulator

   then type the following command to change modes:

     make_dcs_real

5. Using the mouse, move cursor to the leftmost screen. From the window manager's pulldown menu, select NIRC Tools menu, and then select the Start NIRC Software option. This will bring up the following windows:
   • NIRC P3 Control for control of the instrument
   • NIRC P3 Auxilliary for performing non-instrument-control tasks on maili
   • rabbit tip showing status of the motor crate
   • log tail showing status of the detector
   • NIRC Status giving continuous readout on instrument settings
   • FIGDISP Display for inspection of images
   • FIGDISP Control for manipulation of the FIGDISP display
6. Initialize the NIRC software by responding to the prompts in the NIRC P3 Control window.
   • At the prompt enter data directory name: type to select the default or type the name of the directory you wish to use. The default is to create a new directory.
   • At the prompt do you want to home the motors now? type y.
   • At the prompt do you want to home the image converter? type y unless you know that the image converter is out. If you don't know the status of the image converter, always answer y.
   • Wait for the script to display the message NIRC/P3 should now be ready to go.
7. Check the temperature of the detector by typing the command sn tempdet into the window labeled NIRC P3 Control. The nominal operating temperature of the detector is 31°. If the temperature is more than 3° off, contact your SA for help.
8. On the first night only: reset the frame number to 1 by typing mn frameno=1 in the NIRC P3 Control window.
9. Select the timing pattern. The default is patslow and is used under most observing conditions. To change timing patterns, typing one of the following commands in the NIRC P3 Control window:
   • patslow to use the standard timing pattern
   • pat4x to use the faster timing pattern
   • max12ur to use the fastest timing pattern
10. Set the integration time to the desired value by typing tint X, where X is the desired integration time. To use the smallest possible integration time, type tint 0.
11. Set the number of co-adds to perform for each frame by typing coadd N, where N is the number of integrations to perform per exposure. (The length of each integration is given by the tint setting, so the total exposure time is tint×coadd.
12. Close the tertiary mirror cover by typing tmc.
13. Set the instrument up for taking darks by typing f77k.
14. Take a dark exposure and display it using the command goiv.
15. Set up the FIGDISP image display window:
    • Reset the FIGDISP display to a reasonable viewing window by clicking the NORMAL and CENTER buttons in FIGDISP Control.
    • Click the IN button to magnify the image until it fills the viewing window.
    • Click the HISTEQ button to invoke a more favorable colormap.
    • Click the PAN/COLORS button to enable mouse control of the colormap, then use the right mouse button to scale the image so that details are visible.
16. Check the baseline counts. Take a cut across the image by placing the FIGDISP cursor near the image center and pressing the L2/Again key (to the left of the keyboard) to plot a row. The lowest values should be about 23,000 DN, plus or minus 1,000. If not, contact your SA.
17. You are now ready to observe.