HiRAC User Manual

SAOimage

This window will be familiar to many users. Images from the CCD or from a file on the disk may be viewed in SAOimage. A number of pushbuttons with various functions can be used for controlling the displayed image.
Note that pixel (1,1) is in the lower left corner. When the mouse cursor is in the image, the intensity shown (besides the x,y value) is scaled back to almost true values from the given highcut and lowcut.
A manualpage for SAOimage is available by typing man saoimage.
This SAOimage is controlled by the BIAS program. Other SAOimage's can be started from the command line.

The status window gives you information about your setup and the condition/configuration of the CCD. The screen looks like this



The first line gives information about date, time and CCD controller identifier.

• TOTX and TOTY: Total size of CCD in x and y (physical dimensions).
• IMX and IMY: Actual size chosen (window).
• BEGX and BEGY: Starting pixel x and y values.
• BINX and BINY: Binning selected.
• OVS: Overscan pixel count.
• The 'CCD: IDLE' is the status of the CCD controller. It can be 'IDLE', 'INTEGRATING', 'READOUT' and 'PENDING'. 'PENDING' is when the BIAS program is waiting to readout the image.
• When the CCD is 'IDLE', the default integration time and default number of multiple integrations is shown on the next line.
• When the CCD is 'INTEGRATING' the remaining exposure time is shown, and if multiple integrations are in progress the multi. count and multi. total are shown.
• When the CCD is 'READOUT' the linenumber being read out is shown.
• The next part shows the CCD temperature, the CCD set point temperature and the temperature of the LN2 tank.
• 'Ampl' (readout amplifier) can be 'A', 'B' or 'AB'. Currently amplifier 'A' is the default.
• The 'IMPATH' is the path where image files and log files are stored. The default value is the value stored in the startup file .biasrc (below). Remaining diskspace is shown in megabytes. A warning will be given when there is less than 20 MB left on the disk.
• The 'REM_IMPATH' is the path on a remote machine, where images are archived.
• The 'NEXT_FILE' is the name of the next image being stored. Note that the images are stored after the readout is completed. The 'FILE' is the latest stored file or the file shown in SAOimage. If files are being saved automatically after readout, 'AUTOSAVE' is shown as 'ON'.
• 'HIGHCUT', 'LOWCUT' and 'ZOOM' are the values used in displaying the image. The 'ZOOM' value is not updated when using the zoom function in SAOimage.
• 'OBJECT' is a string set by the observer to identify the image. See the command list.
• 'XPOS', 'YPOS' and 'ZPOS' are the X and Y position of the internal guideprobe (not the telescope's) and the focus of the CCD camera attached to this guideprobe. This is used when tip/tilt correction is active.
• 'FILTER' is the current filter position.
• 'SHUTTER' indicates the shutter status; 'OPEN' or 'CLOSED'.
• 'HIRAC TEMP' displays the temperature of the HiRAC guide camera.

  'TIP/TILT INFO' is explained below.

Filters are inserted into the filterwheel by the support astronomer. Light not transmitted by HiRAC filters is reflected to provide the light required for active tip/tilt correction. The filters are therefore very flat.
The current filter number is shown in the lower part of the status window. A small window is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen. This shows which filters are mounted in which positions. This window looks like this:



The filter is changed by giving the command "filter nn" at the BIAS prompt. nn is the filter position.

In the startup directory a file called biasrc controls the initial setting of a number of options. The file is read when BIAS is started. The structure of this file is:

KEYWORD VALUE

An example is shown beneath

STARTUP OFF
GET_INFO ON
#
AUTOSAVE ON
LOCAL_PATH /home3/guest/data2
#
REMOTE_SAVE OFF
REMOTE_SYSTEM lisa
REMOTE_PATH /home/staff/guest/data
MIDAS_BATCH OFF
#
AMPL A
#
MPPMODE ON
GAINMODE HIGH
AUTOSHOW ON
#
MAGZERO 30.0
EXTRA_PHOT ON
TCSIP 161.72.5.7
FOCUS_NUMEXP 8
FOCUS_OFFSET_RA 10
FOCUS_OFFSET_DEC 0
FOCUS_PATTERN ANGLE


Keywords are:

STARTUP ON | OFF	Show a BIAS news file at startup. The file is called biasnews
AUTOSAVE ON | OFF	Save the images on the local disk.
LOCAL_PATH path	The directory in which to store images.
REMOTE_SAVE ON | OFF	Save the images on the REMOTE_SYSTEM
REMOTE_SYSTEM machine_name	Set the logical name of the workstation connected to this system, and used for storage and possibly running image processing systems.
REMOTE_PATH path	The directory on the remote machine in which to store images. Be sure to have write permission in this directory. The user must have the same UID on the local and the remote machine and have an .rhosts file allowing remote shell login without password.
AMPL A | B | AB	Select amplifier.
MPPMODE ON | OFF	Set MPP mode on or off
GAINMODE HIGH | LOW	Select the gain mode.
MIDAS_BATCH ON | OFF	Send a command to MIDAS on the REMOTE_SYSTEM to display the image and prepare processing. The remote system must have appropriate programs installed. Uses a shell script called sendremote
GET_INFO ON | OFF	Ask different external systems about additional FITS header information. Uses a shell script called getinfo
AUTOSHOW ON | OFF	Show images as soon as they are read out from the CCD.
MAGZERO nn.n	Sets the zero point for magnitude calculation in the 'imexamine' command.
EXTRA_PHOT ON | OFF	Determines if something I don't know is shown when using the 'imexamine' command.
TCSIP nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn	Sets the IP address for the TCS computer.
FOCUS_NUMEXP n	Sets the number of sub-exposures to make when making an automatic focus sequence.
FOCUS_OFFSET_RA nn	Sets the amount to offset the telescope in alpha between sub-exposures in the autimatic focus sequence.
FOCUS_OFFSET_DEC nn	Sets the amount to offset the telescope in delta between sub-exposures in the automatic focus sequence.
FOCUS_PATTERN ANGLE | STRAIT	Sets wheather the last sub-exposure in the focus sequence should be offset to a side or made in-line with the rest, but with twice the telescope offset.

The default 'impath' directory is /home3/guest/data2 and should always be kept as such. If there is little or no space on the disk, contact the support staff.
The automatic filenaming mechanism gives you a default filename with the following meaning:

d j 2 3 0 0 2 5
| | | | | | | |
| | | | ---------------- Automatic incremented number
| | | |
| | ---------------------- Day of the month
| |
| ------------------------- Month, a = jan, b = feb, ...
|
---------------------------- Year, 1991 = a, 1992 = b, ...


These filenames can be overridden, if your filename has a letter for the first character, and ends with 4 digits. If a file of the same name already exists when the program is saving data, it is not overwritten, but the next free number is used (this might be confusing if you delete some files and start over again). The default filenames are MS-DOS compatible.
A logfile called eg. loghh17.001 is created with all the input/output on the BIAS screen. This name cannot be changed.

After each night of observing, the duty staff make 2 copies of the night's data on CD-ROM. One copy is kept in the NOT archive.
The observers are responsible for deleting the data from previous nights.

The header of each FITS file contains all information about the exposure. To view a file, use the less filename utility from the UNIX prompt or the head filename command from within BIAS.
Shown below is the FITS header attached to all the files:

        TELESCOP=  'NOT            '    /
	INSTRUME=  'BROCAM2  T/T '      /
	DETNAME =  'LORAL 2k x 2k'      /
	DATE    =  '16-08-98'           /
	FILENAME=  'hh160001'           /
	OBJECT  = 'bias                '/
	EXPTIME =                0.000  /
	TM_START=                69652  /  19:20:52          UT start time
	TM_END  =                69737  /  19:22:17          UT end time
	CRVAL1  =                    1  /
	CRPIX1  =                    1  /
	CDELT1  =                    1  /
	CRVAL2  =                    1  /
	CRPIX2  =                    1  /
	CDELT2  =                    1  /
	COMMENT =                       
	COMMENT = ''                    
	GAINM   =    'HIGH'             /  High or Low
	AMPLM   =    'A '               /  A / B or AB
	CCDTEMP =               -100.1  /
	LN2TEMP =                224.6  /
	COMMENT = ''                    
	MPP     =                    1  /
	CHIPID  =     '2K3EB  C1W14/2  '/
	DATAMIN =     '     389'        /
	DATAMAX =     '     423'        /
	XOVERSC =     '      50'        /
	YOVERSC =     '       0'        /
	AOVERSC =     '       0'        /
	FILTERNO=      '4'              /
	FILTER  =      'HiRAC-R'        /
	  .
	  .
	  .
	  .

	ST      =          15:51:11.70  / Siderial time at start
	RA      =       237.4520044459  / Right ascention at start (15h:49m:48.48s)
	DEC     =        28.9181866445  / Declination at start ( 28d:55m:5.5s)
	AIRMAS  =         1.0000088064  / Airmass at start (sec(z))
	FIELD   =                90.00  / Field rotation at start
	FOC     =                22078  / Telescope focus at start
	  .
	  .
	  .
        END
	

help	Print the BIAS help page.
quit	Exit BIAS. ( alias 'exit' ).
exp [ttt.t]	Normal expose for 'ttt.t' sec.
mexp [ttt [nnn]]	nnn multiple exposures of time ttt.
dark [ttt]	Dark exposure for 'ttt' sec.
mdark [ttt [nnn]]	nnn multiple dark exposures of time ttt.
focus [focus startvalue] [focus stepsize ] [ttt]	Start a focus sequence, each exp. of ttt sec. First image at "focus startvalue" and focus will be incremented be "focus stepsize".
abort	Stop an ongoing integration or readout.
readout	Reads out the ccd. Use 'abort' first to stop the exposure.
addtime ttt	Adds ttt seconds to an integration. 'ttt' can be negative, if the resulting remaining integration time is < 0, the integration is stopped and the ccd is read out.
hold	Hold an ongoing integration (close shutter and stop the integration timer).
resume	Resume an integration (open shutter and restart the integration timer).
save	Save the image in next filename.
tint [ ttt.t ]	set default integration time in sec.
mult [ nnn ]	set default no. of multiple integrations.
xbeg [ nnn ]	set start x value of CCD readout.
ybeg [ nnn ]	set start y value of CCD readout.
xsize [ nnn ]	set x size in true pixel value.
ysize [ nnn ]	set y size in true pixel value.
xbin [ nn ]	set x-binning.
ybin [ nn ]	set y-binning.
bin [ nn ]	set x and y-binning.
resetxy	reset the CCD geometry values to defaults.
gainh, gainl	Set gain high or low. Normal operation mode is 'highgain' which gives a readout speed of ~70 sec. for a full frame. 'Gainlow' gives a readout speed of ~45 sec. The conversion factor is different in the two modes.
mpp+, mpp-	Set MPP mode on or off.
autosave+	Turn on automatic saving of images on local disk.
autosave-	Turn off automatic saving of images on local disk.
remsave+	Turn on saving on remote disk. The remote work station and path must be defined in '.biasrc'.
remsave-	Turn off saving on remote machine.
impath [ path ]	Change the default image directory. Use with care.
rempath [ path ]	Set path on remote machine.
remsystem system	Set the remote system ( Unix machine ).
filename [ name ]	Specify the output file names, the length <= 8 char, 1. char must be a letter, last 4 must be numbers. (Be careful about this, as the last filename may automatically be updated in '.biasrc'.)
autoshow+	Show images in SAOImage.
autoshow-	Do not show images in SAOImage.
ls	Unix list 'ls' command in impath directory.
ll	Unix list 'ls -l' command in impath directory.
imexamine	Start an Iraf-like imex, valid 'imex' commands are: q: back to BIAS commands. z: print 10x10 box values. a: aperture photometry. m: show statistics from data in 'imexbox'. h: histogram plot. c: plot total column. l: plot total line. s: surface plot. e: contour plot. v-v : vector plot from 'v' is hit until next 'v' is hit. u-u : vector plot symmetrically around first 'u'. = : print the plot on the laserprinter. g: Prepare the Tip/Tilt modult to use this star for guiding. p: Preset the T/T guideprobe to the star selected with 'g'.
imexbox [ nn ]	Define the 'aperture' box for surface- and contour plots.
aperture [ nn ]	Set the size of the aperture used in 'imexamine'. The size is adjusted to an uneven value.
magzero [ zz.z ]	Set the magnitude offset for magnitude calculation in the 'imexamine' 'a' function. The value can be fixed at startup in the .biasrc file.
disp [filename]	Display an image from disk in SAOImage. ( alias 'ld' ).
seth [ nnn ]	Set highcut for displayed image. ( alias 'z2' ).
setl [ nnn ]	Set lowcut for displayed image. ( alias 'z1' ).
z+, z-	Zoom in or out, this works independently of SAOImage. If you zoom with SAOImage buttons, the displayed value in the status window is notupdated.
object [text]	Specify an object name for the FITS header. Max. 20 char. The text is saved until changed.
comment [text]	Comments to put in FITS header. Max. 40 char. The text is cleared after storing in the FITS header.
comment1 [text]	Extra comment field to put in FITS header. Not cleared after use.
head	View the current FITS file header. Use 'q' to quit.
logon	Start a log of your command screen. Default on.
logoff	Stop the log.
!xxxxxx	Execute the Unix command 'xxxxxx'.
saoimage	Restart SAOImage.
Miscellaneous commands	:
sleep nn	Wait for nn seconds. (For use in batch routines).
wait	Wait for key press.
rbias	Re-read the '.biasrc'.
stat	Ask if camera is Busy or Ready. Answers 'B' or 'R'.
run filename	Run a batch with commands (any command except 'run').
xrun command boxsize	Goes into SAOImage, when Return or Space is hit, the box is saved in a textfile 'command.data'. The command is then run in an xterm window.
guide	Start the tip/tilt fast guiding facility.
sguide	Stop the tip/tilt module.
hfast	Make a indefinite sequence of images with the HiRAC guidecamera. the images are not saved to disk.
habort	Aborts the actions of the 'hfast' command.
ttinit	Initializes the x, y, z, filter and shutter of HiRAC.
xinit	Initializes the x movement of HiRAC. 'yinit', 'zinit', 'finit' and 'sinit' initializes the y movement, z movement, the filter and the shutter.
xgo [nnnnn]	Moves the x motion of the HiRAC guideprobe to position nnnnn (stepvalue). Range is [0..33000]. All of the x,y,z motions has limit switches to avoid mechanical collision.
ygo [nnnnn]	Moves the y motion of the HiRAC guideprobe as above.
zgo [nnnn]	Moves the focus of the HiRAC guidecamera to position nnnn (stepvalue). Range is [0..4400].
telguide+	Turn on autocorrection of telescope when guidestar is drifting out of the T/T stroke range.
telguide-	Turn off the autocorrection of the telescope.
sopen	Direct command to open the shutter. TECH USE ONLY!
sclose	Direct command to close the shutter. TECH USE ONLY!
sexp [nn]	Direct command which opens the shutter for nn seconds and then closes it again. This command has nothing to do with the camera. DO NOT use it for anything else that experiments! It is intended for use when making star trails on the science CCD.