Telescope Setup:

• Took care to spread tripod legs evenly to avoid breaking plastic spreader bracket?
• Tripod spread, braced, and leveled?
• Telescope mounted on tripod and bolted down?
• Diagonal, eyepiece, hand control attached?
• Telrad mounted?
• Power cable attached to fork arm handle and plugged in?
• Telescope powered on?
• Lens cap off?
• Dew shield attached if needed?
• Telrad aligned with telescope?

 Camera System Setup:

• Focal reducer attached to camera?
• Power and data cable connected to camera and secured to fork-arm handle?
• Data cable connect to VIDEO IN on IOTA-VTI?
• Cigarette lighter cable connecting battery supply to both IOTA-VTI and camera cable?
• Gray USB video cable connecting VIDEO OUT on IOTA-VTI to laptop?
• Laptop on?
• VirtualDub software opened and configured?
  • FILE -> CAPTURE AVI
  • Press letter “P” to shift from green screen to preview mode
  • Disable AUDIO
  • Set FILE NAME to YYYYYYYMMDD_01

 Telescope Alignment and Focusing:

• Telescope on?
• Using GPS signal?
• Telescope aligned using UP and RIGHT arrows for final approach to objects?
• Alignment confirmed by pressing ENTER to get to CPC Ready prompt?
• Telescope focused for camera using Bahtinov Mask?

Recording Position Data:

• IOTA-VTI set to Full Screen?
• Recorded 5 seconds of lat/long position information?
  • Switch IOTA-VTI to POSITION setting
  • F5 to start recording
  • ESC to stop recording
  • Swich IOTA-VTI back to TIME setting
• Recorded filename and description in Observation Log

Finding Target Field:

• Used GOTO RA/DEC to move to target field or to first star train object?
  • Determine systematic offset in direction and distance using star train objects
• Alternatively, used PRECISE GOTO
  • Enter coordinates and follow instructions to center reference star before telescope slews to correct position
• Star field confirmed by identifying recognizable star patterns?
• Target star not near hot pixels?

Recording Occultation:

• Camera sense-up configured to recommended setting 5 minutes before event?
• Target star appears focused and not near hot pixels?
• Used F5 to start recordings and ESC to stop recording?
• Confirmed data being recorded using information at top, bottom, and right side of VirtualDub window?
• Recorded filename, description, and sense-up Observation Log?
• Kept breathing throughout all previous steps?
• Re-emphasized to self and others that all data is valuable regardless of whether occultation is observed?
• Listed all participants on the Observing Logsheet?

Recording Flats and Darks:

• Turned off telescope and recorded 2 minutes of drifting stars?
• Covered telescope and recorded 2 minutes of dark field?
• Recorded filenames, descriptions, and sense-ups in Observation Log?

Take Down

• Turned off power to telescope, IOTA-VTI, and camera?
• Exited VirtualDub and shut down the laptop?
• Stored camera, IOTA-VTI, telescope accessories, and cables in accessories box?
• Capped both ends of telescope while in horizontal position?
• Stored telescope, Bahtinov Mask, and dew shield in telescope crate?
• Altitude clamp loosened for travel?
• Closed all three tripod legs at the same time without breaking plastic bracket?
• Latched webbing on tripod legs?
• Thanked all of team members for contributing!