RAS Membership
Subscribe to Wi-Fi Service at GMARS
The good news is that GMARS has an Internet connection! The bad news is that it's not as fast nor quite as reliable as the Internet connection you may be used to at home, the office, or the coffee shop. The Internet service is paid for by those who pay an annual fee to gain access to the wireless connection at GMARS. Everyone is able to use the PC in the living room in the main house and its hardwired Internet connection for free. But for Wi-Fi access, you must pay the annual fee and be granted access via a predesignated password. Your GMARS Wi-Fi subscription fee goes directly toward paying for the service.
Whether you pay for Wi-Fi access or not, you are not to tamper with any of the computer or network hardware at GMARS. That means not opening or disassembling computers, not trying to access the router admin interface, not disconnecting any network or other cable for any reason, and any other behavior that could be conisdered tampering, vandalizing, or attempting to gain unauthorized access. Wi-Fi access will not be provided to users' laptops or other devices without payment for Wi-Fi access. A temporary access plan is available. See PayPal box at bottom of page.
Guidelines for Using the GMARS Wi-Fi Connection
Internet connections in remote places like GMARS have their limitations. Because of these limitations we are forced to invoke a few common-sense rules and guidelines concerning Wi-Fi usage at GMARS.
By subscribing to GMARS Wi-Fi you acknowledge that you have read and will abide by these guidelines:
- Tampering with any network cable, network device or GMARS computer is strictly prohibited. Any such tampering is grounds for having your Wi-Fi access revoked, access to the property revoked and/or additional consequences.
- The GMARS Internet connection is provided to allow browsing of the Web, checking email, and small file downloads. It is not intended for large file downloads, media streaming, graphic-intensive online gaming, and the like. Avoid using it for these purposes at all times.
- DO NOT stream audio or video content from sites such as YouTube, Hulu, Vimeo, Netflix, and SiriusXM, to name a few. Watching or listening to streaming media drags down the network speed and negatively impacts everyone using it.
- TURN OFF ALL AUTOMATIC UPDATES for programs like Windows, Office, Java, Flash, Shockwave, Adobe Reader, Photoshop, etc. whenever possible. If you don't know how to turn off these automatic updates, perform a Google search or ask someone. Click here for a shortcut to a Google search on the topic. If turning off automatic updates is not possible, schedule them for the middle of the day so as not to interrupt wi-fi usage at night, when it's heaviest.
- PLAN AHEAD! Download everything you need to your laptop, a thumb drive or portable hard drive and update your software before heading out to GMARS. If you leave a computer at GMARS, please try to perform software updates and other large downloads at times other than star party weekends. Again, the Internet connection speed is relatively slow to start with AND you are sharing the bandwidth with everyone else on the network as well as the other RAS devices on the network such as the weather station, webcams, and all-sky camera. Be kind and considerate. Don't be a network hog!
- You acknowledge that there are no guarantees as to the speed of the Internet connection and/or the Wi-Fi signal strength or coverage area. Wi-Fi connections are best within a ~100' radius of the main house and "observatory row" on the GMARS West property. There is currently no reliable Wi-Fi signal on the GMARS East property.
- Once you have signed up and have been given the connection information, you agree that you will not share it with anyone. Anyone!
Instructions for connecting to the GMARS Wi-Fi network will be emailed to you after the RAS receives your payment. If you are requesting access for just one weekend, please try to sign up BEFORE the weekend you will be at GMARS to give us time to receive your payment and grant you access.
|
