3C 390.3 BVRI and H photometry

The broadband fluxes (B, V, R, and I), the spectrophotometric optical continuum flux F_{lambda}_(5177{AA}), and the integrated emission-line fluxes of H{alpha}, H{beta}, H{gamma}, He I 5876, and He II {lambda}4686 all show a nearly monotonic increase with episodes of milder short-term variations superposed. The amplitude of the continuum variations increases with decreasing wavelength (4400-9000{AA}).

The optical continuum variations follow the variations in the ultraviolet and X-ray with time delays, measured from the centroids of the cross-correlation functions, typically around 5 days, but with uncertainties also typically around 5 days; zero time delay between the high-energy and low-energy continuum variations cannot be ruled out. The strong optical emission lines H{alpha}, H{beta}, H{gamma}, and He I {lambda}5876 respond to the high-energy continuum variations with time delays typically about 20 days, with uncertainties of about 8 days.