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Long Distance Phone Calls from CTIO (1Dec92)
(from CTIO, NOAO Newsletter No. 32, 1 December 1992)

The placement of direct long-distance phone calls from CTIO by visiting
astronomers has become a serious accounting problem for the
observatory, resulting in many thousands of dollars of unpaid calls
each year.

Unfortunately, there is no solution to this problem at present, other
than to block such direct long-distance calls from public-access
observatory phones in the future. Fortunately, alternatives are
available that allow rapid communication via phone.

First, AT&T USA Direct (or its equivalent via Sprint and MCI) is
available from Chile; this service enables you to place a direct call
to the USA using a telephone credit card. Equivalent services may be
available to non-US astronomers; please check with your long-distance
telephone company. If you advise our receptionist, they can place the
call to the USA Direct (or other) operator for you. Otherwise, all long
distance calls should be made "collect," this should also be done
through the receptionist. This policy applies to calls made from the
Santiago Guesthouse as well. If you wish to be able to call your
colleagues, family, or friends from Chile easily, we recommend that you
bring a telephone credit card with you that will allow you to do so.
For reference, the receptionist's schedule is now:

                 Monday-Friday:    8:30 am - 9 pm
                 Saturday:         9 am - 9 pm
                 Sunday:           9 am - 5 pm

These times are local time, which is the same as EDT during the
northern summer and 2 hours ahead of EST during the northern winter
(Chile is then on daylight time).

Second, as noted in the last Newsletter, it is now possible to call any
CTIO phone extension directly, night or day, without having to pass
through our receptionist. From the US, one dials 011-56-51-205-xxx,
where xxx = the extension number of the phone. Some useful extensions
follow:

Tololo:
4-m telescope console     400
1.5-m telescope console   466, 464
0.9-m telescope console   469, 468
1.0-m telescope console   472, 473
Curtis Schmidt console    474
0.6-m Lowell telescope    487

Observer Support          420, 421
Dining Room               461
Tololo FAX                462

La Serena:
Director's Office         200, 217, 215
Computer Room             310
La Serena FAX             342

Note: where two or more numbers are listed, the first is "preferred,"
since the others often ring in additional locations and may be picked
up there.

Bob Williams, Jay Elias

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