So, to clarify: Changing one of those settings such as "static hostname" or "static IP" was just what triggered that other bug, the NoMethodError; because then it was necessary to write that configuration to disk. As for the Arecibo observatory, here is what I wrote one year ago about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oBCtTv6yOw&lc=UgyGtoauVbeYeHlKo6R4AaABAg