Instrumentation

CFDT1, which stands for Cartesian Full-Disk Telescope #1, is a fixed-focus, one-inch aperture telescope with a 512-diode linear array giving 5 arc-sec per pixel resolution. As the Earth rotates, the Sun drifts through the telescope’s field of view and the telescope takes 512 sequential scans of the Sun, building a 512x512 solar image in about 3 minutes. Images are taken daily, weather permitting, in three wavelengths: continuum red at 672.3nm, continuum blue at 472.3nm, and Ca II K at 393.4nm. Sunspots can best be identified in continuum red and blue images, while faculae can best be seen in Ca II K images. It came online in 1986 and has the longer record of the two telescopes.

CFDT2 (Cartesian Full-Disk Telescope #2) is a second, larger photometric telescope with a variable-focus and a three-inch aperture (stopped down to two-inches). It has a 1024-diode linear array. 1024 scans of the array are taken as the Earth drifts and the Sun passes across the telescope lens, building a 1024x1024 solar image with 2.5 arc-sec per pixel resolution. CFDT2 produces images in several wavelengths: three in the same wavelengths as CFDT1, i.e., red (672.3nm), blue (472.3nm), and Ca II K (393.4nm), plus a narrow-bandwidth Ca II K (393.4nm), and two infrared wavelengths at 780.0nm and 997.0nm. It came online in 1992.

Examples of these images can be seen here. Put images here somewhere.
A more comprehensive explanation of SFO image acquisition and processing can be found in the following publications:
Walton, S.R., Chapman, G.A., Cookson, A.M., Dobias, J.J., Preminger D.G. 1998. Processing Photometric Full-Disk Solar Images, Solar Physics 179, 31.
Chapman, G.A., Cookson, A.M., Preminger, D.G. 2013. Modeling Total Solar Irradiance with San Fernando Observatory Ground-based Photometry: Comparison with ACRIM, PMOD, and RMIB Composites, Solar Physics 283, 295.