NIRSPEC BASICS

1: The Basics: What's What and Where It Comes Out

1.1: Physical layout of dewar, electronics racks and calibration unit

1.2: Location of power switch and NOTE: procedure on web page

1.3: What is cold, how cold, and why

1.4: Optical Path: Basic Schematic and the The Gory Details

1.5: Data Products: SCAM Images, SPEC in high-resolution mode, and SPEC in low-resolution mode

2: Observers' Software

2.1: Left monitor and middle monitor have all the NIRSPEC GUI's. Right monitor is free for guider eavesdrop, FACSUM, XMET, etc., but beware of colormap conflicts on 8-bit right monitor.

2.2: XNIRSPEC has 3 windows: Motor control, SPEC control, and SCAM control. Note that motor control panel also supplies dewar temperature information and status reports on motor moves (but not by misleading twirlies!).

2.3: Image Rotator GUI only comes up when the observer invokes night-time mode. It allows observers to choose only two modes:

• stationary mode (called "physical angle" left button on the GUI) or
• PA mode. There are two different reference frames for PA mode:
  • angle with respect to the slit, or
  • angle with respect to SCAM columns
  (the middle and right buttons on the GUI).

2.4: Quicklook has 2 windows: SPEC Display and SCAM Display. Both include features for plotting, image arithmetic, color map and display adjustment, file opening for old images, etc. SCAM Display also includes various ways to interact with the DCS and move the telescope.

2.5: Slitnod widget (a/k/a Slitmove widget) only comes up when observer invokes night-time mode. Essentially a handpaddle limited to the reference frame of the slit. Handy for nudging star into slit, or nodding along slit by hand.

2.6: Echelle Format Simulator a/k/a EFS. Would take a week to describe all the features. Can use it to:

• Configure the instrument.
• Take preprogrammed lamp sequence.
• Take observations (nod sequences along slit) with the SPEC detector (but not with SCAM).
• Set up configurations, observing nod sequences, etc, and store them for later use. These can also be edited by hand and run from any waimea command line.
• Recall, modify and execute previously stored configurations and sequences (but with a large WARNING or TWO).

3: Operations: Guiding

3.1: Layout and physical arrangement of the two guiders.

3.2: SCAM and The Rotator. Just like HIRES, LRIS, ESI, the pointing origins on SCAM are always on the same SCAM pixels: REF and SLIT mainly.

3.3: PXL and The Rotator. Unlike any other guider we have, the pointing origin (REFA) on the PXL moves as the rotator moves.

3.4: Common Gotcha: SCAM guiding and waimea reboots, "Can't open FITS file...". If waimea is rebooted during the night due to a crash, have the observer or IS do the following on waimea after restart:

• take a SCAM test image
• issue the following command in a window with a waimea prompt:
  • cp /tmp/TEMPFITS2 /tmp/TEMPSKY2

4: Operations: Malign

4.1: Nominal magnitude star works fine in K or H (Nirspec-5) filters. Always ask observers to put in one or the other.

4.2: Software supplies a surface plot to check for saturation.

4.3: Send stack? OK! Usually not necessary if small, but it is OK to send stack for NIRSPEC.

4.4: Common gotcha: error messages about "no DCS keywords" in header. Almost always due to observer failing to enable night-time mode.