im trying to connect to a wifi point that is owned by a company in a marina. They are giving it to me for free but the ssid i discover from the blinkup is mdl wispark etc… But they have given me a name and password also…
Thing is on my pc i connect through available wifi devices mdl wispark… And when i open the browser it takes me to there webpage where i then have to put my username and password they gave me in the fields provided…i then have full access on my pc…
What i am asking is can my imp connect to this wifi? Or is this classed as an enterprise network as i obviously cant connect the imp like my pc and open a webpage to put my credentials in…? All i can do is ssid and password.
The imp cannot connect to this network (called a “captive network”) as it can’t read web pages - every one is different.
You can often get around this to some extent using a wifi to wifi router, eg the Dlink 505 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127488 ) which will join a wifi network and re-broadcast its own network. You then join this new network with your PC, do the username stuff, and the imp will be able to use it as long as it’s not blocking non-web ports. The “host” network only sees your wifi to wifi router, not the devices behind it.
This is unlikely to be a great long term solution because who knows how often the captive network will decide you need to re-login.
Thankyou for explaining this to me. It seems the omly solution but an expensive one for my project?
I might have to have a rethink?
Or just order the part you advised and see how i fair?
Ill let you know how i get on.
Alot of places in the field i.e. Outside of the home environment use these captive networks? Could this be an issue in the implementation of the imp etc as opposed to the pi which has an o/s out of the box?
Yep, there are captive networks out there and they are intended for human, not machine use. If you used a pi, you either need to fire up a web browser every time you got prompted or work out how to fake out the submission of the form… and hope it didn’t change. Not exactly ideal for a device that’s supposed to look after itself.
There are standards like WISPr which are designed to allow you to bypass portals if you have acceptable (generally commercial) credentials, but I suspect that it’s unlikely your marina will support this.
Do you need something (WiFi) controlled when you’re physically at the marina, or do you need to control stuff when not at the marina? If you’re only controlling things via WiFi when you’re at the marina, you can use this: http://www.flyportamerica.com/
You’re basically creating your own private website server that can control things.
You still will NOT be on the ‘internet’ though, but you’ll have WiFi control within range.
A flyport may not work on the marina’s wifi without logging in either (you’d have to create your own wifi network). Generally public wifi networks disable inter-client routing.
No it won’t work on the marina’s wifi. The FlyPort is it’s own Wifi … it’s a WiFi enabled, embedded web server. I thought maybe he only needs to do something while near the marina. If he needs to do things outside the marina area, then the deal is off … nothing you can do to get past the captive network.
Here’s another thought …
If you have something in mind that the marina might be interested in, maybe they could provide another WiFi that isn’t captive. That would benefit them as well as you?
i am trying to see as they installed and own the wi-fi system in the marina if there is a way of giving me access outside the captive network? i wiki’d captive networks and it said it is possible?? surely if they set it up then there technicians etc must be able to access the wifi network without going through the captive route??
thats awesome if that works as i can then leave my phone in the ship plugged in and then use that as the wifi hotspot! send my data through my phone to xively and hey presto!! if this works ill be so so happy! now i need get a cheap phone i dont mind leaving there!! and a cheap unlimited wifi plan?!! android second hand i feel and o2’s £15 un limited pay as you go SIM!!
I am investigating the possibility of using small low powered battery efficient wireless devices in the maritime and offshore environment for possible future implementation in condition based monitoring and control systems. Its my final year Beng hons project. I am a marine tech engineering student.
So i.e. Monitoring the temp and pressures of i.e. 8 cylinders over a ships Wi-fi system and sending data realtime to shore management so probs can be foreseen and the ship systems can be managed more efficiently.
The wireless revolution is near non existent at sea. Especially for monitoring and ship systems.
I am using the imp due to simplicity and size i started with the arduino but the wi-fi shield was horribly useless.
Anyway hope to get some good data and its a great possible implementation for the imp in something less trivial than a door lock and a plant health monitor not saying those things arent uber cool.
Like alot of industries the shipping industry is afraid of new things. Everything is local and wired with miles of cables. Its slowly changing but there is not a great deal of research…
Anyway hope this has answered some of your questions.?
That is interesting. Data Acquisition at sea. The WiFi can be to a hot-spot, but is there good cellphone (internet service) at sea? I suppose they use satellites?
And I’m not so experienced with ship engines … cars have ODBII for engine diagnostics and computer communications. Do ship engines have something like that?
its redundant anyway i cant get my chip to blink up on the iphone!!! can get the 3g hotspot to work on laptop and tablet right here but not on the imp card!! this thing is so frustrating!!!
just flashes once green and then flashes red for a time then off!!! i have reset the card to flashing orange still nothing!! one thin the wifi hotspot is discoverable on my laptop and tablet but only my home wifi shows up on blinkup and not the hotspot??? so i have to add it but doesnt work? so so weird!!!
We had similar problems blinking up recently on Galaxy S3. Reinstalling the App worked for me but it still takes several (10+) attempts to connect.
I agree the whole system is very frustrating.
@wg002 If you get the green flash then blinkup worked. If it’s not connecting then, the usual issue is a mistyped SSID or password. We’ve used many hotspots with imps successfully (verizon jetpack, at&t LTE, various no-brand ones in asia).
@harrywalsh we have an update coming for the android app which improves things a lot. We have had 100% success with an S3 in our tests. For now, check that “power save” mode is disabled (swipe down to get controls, power save is to the right).