Semi public wifi boosting - captive screen login

[RJTMAP]

HI, I am looking for some advice on how to resolve the issue of poor wifi on our seasonal caravan pitch. We are located close to the antenna so distance is not an issue, but where we are located the signal is weak, and then to try and get this through the body of the caravan it is not great.
System set up.
The site wifi has a captive screen, which requires a user name and password ( It is free to people on the site)
Once you log in it remembers you, so I assume it is based on the MAC address
The wifi has good speed and it services about 20 caravans.
However the antenna is situated high up on a platform which I would say 30 to 40 foot high and we are only, say 10 meters from it, so direction across the site is fine, but down at an angle is clearly some of the problems

So I would like to have an antenna on the side of the caravan, connected to a router which I could then broadcast inside the caravan for all users, and some streaming to Firestick.

The challenge I have faced and know some things about routers is that I cant access the splash screen through some normal wifi boosters. I have yet to find an antenna that will provide RJ45 cable to the router, just some USB versions, which seem to be slow.

Also an ability to make sure the router is picked up.

I hope that all makes sense, but if anyone could suggest the following that would be great:-

RJ45 outdoor Anntenna to consider
Reasonable router considering the location
Consider the splash screen work around

I am not trying to break the bank, so I do have an old router which might do the trick. but its understanding of how that antenna will feed the router, as it would normally be coming in through fiber in the house.

Cheers

 

[L&LD]

Caravan? Is this like a Winnebago RV? Or are camels' part of this too?

Why not just use the old router on the roof with a LAN cable connecting the router in the RV?

Or just park further than ten metres from the main antennae.

 

[RJTMAP]

Caravan? Is this like a Winnebago RV? Or are camels' part of this too?

Why not just use the old router on the roof with a LAN cable connecting the router in the RV?

Or just park further than ten metres from the main antennae.

Cheers L&LD, no we do tend to park the camels in the other fields as they don't seem to like the grass in this field. Sorry, appreciate some pond translation here..

I would probably not put a router on the roof, as we have a lot of rain here in the UK, so tends to cause issues with the electrics.

Yes a caravan is like a RV but one you would attach to a pickup and take with you. No way of getting closure, its just the way the site works. But your point is close to what I was thinking about. As you know about routers, could I connect a router to an external aerial and set the router to bridge mode, and then try to bypass the captive screen mode? Would that work.

I will however consider the camels to carry the aerial..

 

[L&LD]

What you may want to investigate are called WISP capable routers. Maybe there are weatherproof ones?

I can't see another way of bypassing the captive screen mode.

Unless you can get a router with a removable antennae, connect first with your laptop, phone, etc., then use that same MAC address (of the device you used to go through the captive portal) in the router?

Anyway, some ideas for you to think about.

And be nice to those camels while you're at it, they're rare in the UK!

 

[RJTMAP]

What you may want to investigate are called WISP capable routers. Maybe there are weatherproof ones?

I can't see another way of bypassing the captive screen mode.

Unless you can get a router with a removable antennae, connect first with your laptop, phone, etc., then use that same MAC address (of the device you used to go through the captive portal) in the router?

Anyway, some ideas for you to think about.

And be nice to those camels while you're at it, they're rare in the UK!

Yes camels are rare, however, but not as rare as good politicians here in the UK.... (Ooopps talking politics)

Would it be best to spoof the router's MAC address on to my laptop and then connect to the captive portal. Then connect portal and broadcast using bridge mode to the caravan. My worry is the broadacst part but hopefully it would work.

Stay safe and any other ideas welcomed

 

[L&LD]

Anything may work. Are you able to give it a try soon?

 

[RJTMAP]

Anything may work. Are you able to give it a try soon?

The problem is the lockdown here in the UK, so can't go that far to try it, but I am going to see if i can set up a test system and see if it works. Will keep you posted. Good job I have someone to feed the camels whilst not there.. Thanks for your help

 

[ColinTaylor]

GL.iNet do some travel routers that supposedly support captive portal connections.
https://docs.gl-inet.com/en/3/troubleshooting/captive_portal/

These don't have detachable antennas though:
https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-mt1300/
https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-ar750s/

This looks like it does but it's an older, slower model:
GL-AR300M-Ext https://store.gl-inet.com/collections/all-wifi-devices/products/gl-ar300m-mini-smart-router?variant=5173573419035