The Echelle spectrograph covers the (fixed) wavelength range 3500-10000Å with $R\sim 30000$ (10 km s$^{-1}$ at 5000Å) and a resolution element of $\sim$ 2.5 pixels. All the exposure times can be found in Table \[tab:obs\].

The DIS observations were reduced in the standard way using [*IRAF*]{} and the spectra were optimally-extracted and dispersion corrected without any particular difficulty.

The Echelle spectra were reduced using the IRAF [*ecspec*]{} package. Direct extraction of the object spectra proved difficult for the highest (bluest) orders where the trace was hard to follow. We decided to use the flat field as a guide and validated the method with a standard star observed on the same night. This resulted in significantly higher S/N in the blue part of the spectrum. A total of 115 orders were extracted covering the spectral range 3500Å-10000Å, in which the source is detected, albeit with varying sensitivity. The dispersion varied between $\sim$ 0.05Å/pixel to 0.1Å/pixel and the usable spectral range in each order between $\sim$ 70Å to 150Å from the blue to the red end.

The emission lines in the spectrum of XTE J1118+480 are both broad and weak (see below, Fig. \[fig:lowres\]) and their identification in the Echelle spectra turned 