Techniques used in the analysis of solar oscillations from the BiSON (University of Birmingham) network. 1, Daily calibration

In this, the first of a pair of linked papers, we discuss the methods used to convert raw data from the BiSON network of resonant-scattering spectrometers to velocity residuals, from which the low-degree, five-minute solar oscillations are studied. We describe our standard calibration and some alternative methods. The rejection of bad data, and the corrections applied for unwanted low-frequency effects, are also discussed.