Cal. Acq. Tool The Calibration Acquisition Tool (CAT) provides a GUI for observers who wish to take more than the one flat and one dark provided by the EFS "Lamps Only" option.

    Notes:
  • The observer is in complete control of exposure times and coadds.
  • Please think about your exposure times before sending a cal sequence. The NIRSPEC detector will show persistence if exposed to more than 4000 counts per coadd.
  • Please see the calibration lamp exposures page for the standard exposure times. Keep in mind that the flat lamp intensity changes slightly with time so you may want to test your exposure times.
  • The desired filter, slit, echelle angle, and cross disperser angle must set prior to taking cals with the CAT (see the EFS page to learn about a "setup only" script).
  • Low-res observers often take 1 Neon and 1 Argon lamp; High-res observers often take 1 arc with all lamps on.
  • The minimum integration time for SPEC is 0.25 seconds.
  • Argon has very strong lines that will cause persistence no matter the integration time.
  • Currently, one cannot take "lamps off" only with the CAT.


    To start the CAT:
  • Right-click in the background --> Click "NIRSPEC Tools" --> Click "Run Cal. Acquisition Tool"

    To use:
  1. Enter the number of flats and dark frames that you want. Note that Darks are "lamps off".
  2. Enter the number of coadds per frame
  3. Enter the exposure time (itime) per frame.
  4. Click the radio buttons for which comparison lamps you wish to have on.
  5. Select the number of frames you wish (1 is generally good enough, set number of frames to 0 to skip arc lamps)
  6. Click "GO"