Instrument

The FIES focus mechanism electronics were repaired and tested. The camera focus is now back under computer control.

To upgrade the original fiber bundle and make it a proper spare it was removed from the telescope and is current with Gerardo Avila at ESO who is preparing the bundle. The exit slit for the high-resolution fiber is the last item to be added before the bundle can be shipped back to the NOT. After it arrives a plan will be made to install and test it. Depending on the test results we will decide how to proceed.

Following the problems we had with the top calibration unit there are still a few pending issues. A better mounting needs to be design to make it more stable. To make any alignment of the fiber easier after any misalignment an XY-slide has been purchased, but this still needs to be mounted and calibrated. To avoid further electrical problems in the top-calibration-unit electronics box cable terminators need to be installed.

One of the issues with flat fielding the spectrograph is the low light level in the blue. It will be investigated if we can make a flat-field light-source that is bluer.

The optimal telescope focus will be tested for each fiber by checking count rates at FIES detector as a function of telescope focus.