If it's your first time with the Kast, or if it's been a long time and you feel you need a refresher, contact the person who will check you out in advance to arrange a time to meet (you may contact all support astronomers using the email sa@ucolick.org and the proper person will get in touch with you). This service is free, required on your first visit, and strongly recommended if you have any doubts later. Our point of view is that we want to do everything we can to make the science successful, and to protect the equipment for the entire community.

Go out to the telescope, where there are five things to do.

There are four things to look at, and one to set up for yourself. The look at items are

1. Make sure the CCD temperatures for both chips are reasonable.
2. Check that the x-y stage settings are properly set on the blue side (probably to the nominal 10.0).
3. Check the dichroics to be sure the ones you want are installed.
4. Check the grating tray contents to be sure the ones you want are installed.

From the user account on gouda, karnak, or shanevnc start the following software:

• The Kast motor controller by typing kast start obs in an xterm window.
• The Red Data Taking System by typing kastrstart in an xterm window.
• The Blue Data Taking System by typing kastbstart in an xterm window.

Although it has never been clearly necessary, it just seems to us to be good practice to re-calibrate the spectrograph controller at the beginning of each run, or following a power failure. This is done by clicking Actions - Re-calibrate all in the Kast motor control software.

When you get a data taking window, update the header with the observer's name on the 2nd Level tab for each data taker. This information will be added to every image header.

Check the data directories /data/kastred and /data/kastblue. If there are data from the previous observer's run still in the directory, contact a Support Astronomer or Telescope Technician who will make sure the data are properly archived before clearing the directory for you. Please note that data frames can be overwritten, so it is important to clear the directory before recording any images or make sure you use observation numbers different than any in the directory.

As soon as possible after you have things started, do a short integration to be sure everything is ok. The most complete check is to read the whole window for both chips (click Whole CCD in each data taker). Be sure the shutters open and close, and that the chips read and display correctly. The point is, of course, to find any serious problems early enough to get them fixed before observing time.

Set up the spectroscopic windows. This is best done by illuminating a full length slit with the blue flat field lamp, mirror cover open, diagonal mirror position 3 or 4, and reading out the whole chips (or you can just check the windows left by the last observer if they look reasonable). In particular for the gratings, the dispersed illuminated areas may not be the same, although they should be close. You will probably choose to use one window which covers only the area of the overlap, or one all-inclusive window.

Select any order separating filters you may require. On the red side, you will need to suppress second order if you go beyond twice the effective cut-on point of the dichroic you use. If you are not using a dichroic, the glass in the lenses cuts off at about 3800 A, and therefore will suppress any second order below 7600 A, but beyond that you will need to suppress with an order separator.

Determine where the direct windows are. Use decker setting "Open" for a wide open decker, and slit setting "Open" for a wide open slit, no disperser. A suggested blue side window is 325, 325, 850, 850. For the red side, with the tilted flat mirror in the grating tray at grating tilt 8800, use window 350, 390, 2020, 424. On the blue side the window may change if the dewar x-y stage is changed from its nominal positions. Check direct windows with the top lights, not the TUB lights.

It is useful both as a convenience and as a precaution to record your setups. You might want to do this both on paper and for future reference, and on the disk for quick recall during the night. The Kast controller allows you to store as many setup as you desire (please store your setups in your directory in /u/user/observers/).

Use mirror position 2, dispersed setup, and record image to disk. For the best solution, use a two-pixel slit or greater to avoid aliasing. With the currently installed CCDs, the 0.5" width slit is recommended.

Most people who are doing "ordinary" spectroscopy (that is, not trying for accurate radial velocities), do a set of line lamps at the beginning and (just as a check) another set at the end of the night. Remember that between San Jose and night sky emission, there are comparison spectra available for zero point corrections on every frame, except possibly the shortest exposures.

Use the Red dome lamp (unless very narrow band), make sure the mirror cover is open, the diagonal is in mirror positon 3, and use your direct imaging setup.

Wait until after sunset to do dispersed flats so as to avoid the possibility of getting solar features in your flat if that might make a difference for your science program. Use the blue or superblue dome lamp, mirror cover open, mirror position 4 (or 3), dispersed setups.

It is ordinary practice to open the dome in mid- to late afternoon, weather permitting, in order to let the inside air reach equilibrium with the outside. If you're working in the control room (local or remote) setting up, the night assistant will probably ask you when it will be convenient for you to have the dome opened. If you are not around, the night assistant will normally open the dome anyway as soon as the outside temperature begins to be less than that inside the dome.

At the beginning of the night, the night assistant will choose a bright star with good coordinates from Apparent Places, and set to it first. You may focus the telescope if you wish, or the NA will do it for you. The NA will put the focus star in the center of the slit and reset the telescope coordinates, then will mark the location on the TV in mirror position 2 which corresponds to the center of the slit.

Before each exposure, be sure the spectrograph setup and selection is appropriate. Set the integration time and object name. Try to anticipate the need for an offset guide star so the NA can be setting up that while you are setting up the spectrograph.

The autoguider is nearly always used and will be set up by the night assistant, so there is not usually much that's required of you during an exposure, except to check the guiding now and then.