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Which AIS should I buy?

20K views 130 replies 20 participants last post by  MastUndSchotbruch 
#1 · (Edited)
I decided to buy an AIS system, to enhance safety in poor visibility and other difficult conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. This is a relatively rare occurrence (I don't go out if it is foggy) but it happens; in some of our violent thunderstorms you can barely see beyond the ends of the boat.

Question is what AIS should I buy.

So far, I have made some decisions but I would appreciate help from the competent people on this forum for some others. Here is what I have decided:

-- It will be AIS-B (duh)
-- It will be an active system, not just a receiver
-- It will have its own antenna, not a splitter. This is based on the arguments by SVAuspicious on S/N, among others. Eventually the antenna may end up on the spreaders, for the time being probably on the pulpit
-- It needs to have an audible alarm, or a connector where I can connect one (I presume that all models have this, but just to make sure...)

To make clear what I do NOT know yet, here is the situation. We are talking a 32' sailboat with somewhat minimal electronics. I have a rather old (90s) VHF (no DSC or anything). And a nearly equally old GPS, a Garmin GPSMAP 162 (black and white, with a screen smaller than my current cell phone). Both work OK for what I do, which is daysailing and occasional overnighters in the Chesapeake. I don't really see a need to replace them, they do all I need. But if there is a good reason to replace them with something else, I have gotten a lot of mileage out of them and would be not be sad to see them go, either.

So, on to the AIS. It seems to me there are three options:

1) Buy a stand-alone system, a transceiver with a dedicated screen for the AIS

2) Buy a 'black box' transceiver and interface it with my existing GPS
(which talks NMEA 0183)

3) Replace the old GPS by a new Multi Function
Display and interface it with a black box AIS transceiver

(is there another one that I overlooked?)

I imagine that (2) is cheapest, (1) is intermediate and (3) is most expensive. I am a cheap person but I hesitate a little bit to add more clutter to the tiny b/w screen on the existing GPS. And I am not really looking forward to messing with 20 year old electronics. So at this point, option (2) is at the bottom of the list.

I am not sure how big the differences really are between the three solutions. And, in general, I appreciate quality products, and if I can get a markedly better product for not much more money, I will take it.

So, my questions to the experts here on S/N:

a) Towards which of these solutions (1, 2 or 3) would you steer me?

b) What are good models for each of them?

This has taken on some urgency since I see that the first announcements
of fall boat-show rebates are out, e.g. Defender:
Marine AIS on Sale
I want to take advantage of the off-season and probably buy this pretty soon.

Muchas gracias for any information!
 
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#2 ·
Thing you don't tell us is how long you intend to hang on to the boat. If it's for awhile take the plunge and re- up your electronic suite. If you're going to move on go with what will get you by. Other thing you don't say is what type of sailing you do. If you are doing multiple overnights across multiple shipping lanes get the best you can afford. Then you only have to worry about figuring out which way the fishing boats are going. AIS is a blessing on night watches for sure but realize most fish boats don't have it. For poor visibility radar with a good chart plotter maybe more helpful. Really like the dual screen displays. Radar on one chart on the other.
 
#19 ·
Right, I did not say how long I will stay with the boat. I have no intention to sell her for at least several years.

OTOH, I don't see why I should rip out perfectly working equipment (existing VHF, GPS) just because it is old. This is not a reason for me. If there is a good reason for it (like I want to interface with AIS and the old stuff cannot do it), then THAT would be reason.

As for type of sailing, as I said, daysailing and some overnighters. I considered radar (I even have some training on radar equipment) but it is more money and I think that AIS does all I need. Which is, getting out of the way of the real big boyz.

I am well-aware that fishing vessels and recreational boats usually do not have AIS.
 
#3 ·
I bought the Raymarine 650. Its about $850 so not cheap.

It has a USB plug so goes straight into the laptop running OpenCpn.
It can also go straight into a Raymarine chart plotter.

All AIS have their own GPS. So your laptop then has gps for its plotter.

I agree, and have a separate vhf antenna.

The power consumption is minimal so i have it in 24/7

I hope this helps


Mark
 
#5 ·
I bought the Raymarine 650. Its about $850 so not cheap.

It has a USB plug so goes straight into the laptop running OpenCpn.
It can also go straight into a Raymarine chart plotter.
A neat unit indeed! That's what I'd get if I was in the market for one and had the $$$ to spare..

All AIS have their own GPS. So your laptop then has gps for its plotter.
Not true. The GPS is required for transmission of your position to other vessels, so it's generally only the AIS transceivers that have built-in GPS. AIS Receivers (like the Ray 350) generally don't.

Just something to keep in mind when choosing what to buy...
 
#4 ·
I decided to buy an AIS system, to enhance safety in poor visibility and other difficult conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. This is a relatively rare occurrence (I don't go out if it is foggy) but it happens; in some of our violent thunderstorms you can barely see beyond the ends of the boat.

Question is what AIS should I buy.
Safety in poor visibility will only be enhanced by AIS if there is a proliferation of other vessels in your area that also have AIS. AIS generally only tells you about vessels that share the system and that are likely to move into your path/area.

Exceptions to this may be some channel markers that use AIS (example: all harbour channel markers in Auckland are AIS equipped) and I don't know what your area is like but in my experience the stationary use of AIS is quite unusual/rare. Your area may differ but it doesn't look to me like the dominant part of the Bay has much commercial shipping

If your area is populated by other recreational vessels without AIS or shoals/reefs/islands/shoreline projections, you should probably be considering radar first.

DISCLAIMER: I don't know anything about Chesapeake Bay - above comments are intended to be generic.
 
#21 ·
I know about the difference between AIS and radar. One thing I like about AIS is the possibility to set an alarm for CPA. Because of the high signal density of the area (shoreline, buoys etc) this would be very difficult for radar.

To my knowledge there are no AIS-equipped aids to navigation in the Chessie. As for commercial shipping, this is not the straits of Singapore but there are a couple ships a day, plus a lot more barges.
 
#6 ·
Hello,

IMHO, for your use, an AIS receiver would be a good idea. I don't think you need a transceiver. Whatever you do get, forget about interfacing it to your old garmin unit. First I doubt it would be able to understand the AIS messages. Even if it did, the screen is so small that it would not be able to display any meaningful information.

Whatever unit you get, I recommend you get one with NMEA 2000 networking. It's SO much easier to connect and configure. You just plug in the wire and you're done. No fiddling with teeny tiny wires and trying to figure out who is the talker and who is the listener and that sort of stuff.

This year I added an AIS receiver to my boat. I bought a Simrad unit, a combo VHF and AIS receiver, one of the few with NMEA 2000. I connected it to my Garmin 740S plotter, and it just works. The plotter displays AIS targets, beeps when it detects a possible collision, and is very easy to use. It's not perfect - if a vessel pops up on the garmin display, I can't automatically hail it by mmsi number, I need to manually enter the number. Kind of dumb but that's the way it works.

Good luck,
Barry
 
#8 ·
... It's not perfect - if a vessel pops up on the garmin display, I can't automatically hail it by mmsi number, I need to manually enter the number. Kind of dumb but that's the way it works.
I can't hail from my chartplotter display either, but my SH VHF/AIS does give me a list of nearby vessels (on the radio itself) from which I can hail boats directly without manually entering the MMSI. Are you sure your Simrad doesn't have this capability somewhere in the radio's display?
 
#9 ·
You can't DSC an MMSI from most plotters or laptops. However, I have found calling the ship on VHF with their name always gets a respinse.

If it doesnt and the ship is getting close you can use your VHF to do a DSC All Ships call. That makes an alarm go off on their VHF, and every other ship in range too i.e. Lots of wittnesses! :D

Much quicker to use and All Ships than put in an MMSI to my vhf. Which idiot designed that??


*********BTW My next post will be Acronym, Abbreviation, and Initialisation free! (Except BTW, IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, GGF'd, and any swear word that has a ! Or @ to avoid the Naughty Word checker NWC??)
 
#10 ·
-- It will be AIS-B (duh)
-- It will be an active system, not just a receiver
Those two things are the same - if it is AIS-B it is active.

-- It will have its own antenna, not a splitter.
Good choice. I've done a number of these and there are some things you can do to make it easier. I'm happy to help with those details as you progress.

-- It needs to have an audible alarm, or a connector where I can connect one (I presume that all models have this, but just to make sure...)
Alarms are usually a function of the display, so if you choose a black box solution the alarm is on the display.

I have a rather old (90s) VHF (no DSC or anything). And a nearly equally old GPS, a Garmin GPSMAP 162 (black and white, with a screen smaller than my current cell phone).
1) Buy a stand-alone system, a transceiver with a dedicated screen for the AIS

2) Buy a 'black box' transceiver and interface it with my existing GPS
(which talks NMEA 0183)

3) Replace the old GPS by a new Multi Function Display and interface it with a black box AIS transceiver
I don't believe that option 2 exists. The GPSMAP 162 does not, to my knowledge, support AIS.

As others have noted another option (either 4 or 3B) is to put OpenCPN or another navigation tool on a laptop, probably at your nav station, and connect a black box AIS to that.

Someone above asked a good question. How long do you plan to keep the boat?

If you aren't going to keep the boat very long (however long that is), you might consider backing off to an AIS receiver and get an integrated VHF/DSC/AIS. Installation is easy, it gets you information about (most) commercial traffic, and it upgrades your VHF to modern standards.

If you plan to keep the boat through a series of electronic upgrades, you might consider a standalone Class B AIS like the Vesper Watchmate 850. In the near term you can mount it to be visible from the cockpit. Later when you upgrade your GPSMAP 162 you can move the AIS display to the nav station.

Alternatively you could bite the bullet now and upgrade to an MFD and a Raymarine 650, an Em-Trak, or similar Class B transponder.

There are some surprises people get during installation, mostly due to bits and bobs including tools they have to buy. Many DIYers run into trouble because they install something without considering the difficulty or even possibility of cable pulls. If you would like to meet somewhere near Annapolis I'll be happy to give you some pointers.
 
#24 ·
Those two things are the same - if it is AIS-B it is active.

Good choice. I've done a number of these and there are some things you can do to make it easier. I'm happy to help with those details as you progress.

Alarms are usually a function of the display, so if you choose a black box solution the alarm is on the display.

I don't believe that option 2 exists. The GPSMAP 162 does not, to my knowledge, support AIS.

As others have noted another option (either 4 or 3B) is to put OpenCPN or another navigation tool on a laptop, probably at your nav station, and connect a black box AIS to that.

Someone above asked a good question. How long do you plan to keep the boat?

If you aren't going to keep the boat very long (however long that is), you might consider backing off to an AIS receiver and get an integrated VHF/DSC/AIS. Installation is easy, it gets you information about (most) commercial traffic, and it upgrades your VHF to modern standards.

If you plan to keep the boat through a series of electronic upgrades, you might consider a standalone Class B AIS like the Vesper Watchmate 850. In the near term you can mount it to be visible from the cockpit. Later when you upgrade your GPSMAP 162 you can move the AIS display to the nav station.

Alternatively you could bite the bullet now and upgrade to an MFD and a Raymarine 650, an Em-Trak, or similar Class B transponder.

There are some surprises people get during installation, mostly due to bits and bobs including tools they have to buy. Many DIYers run into trouble because they install something without considering the difficulty or even possibility of cable pulls. If you would like to meet somewhere near Annapolis I'll be happy to give you some pointers.
This is a most generous offer! I will likely come back to it if (when) I run into problem!

And thank you for disabusing me of the idea of interfacing with the GPSMAP 162. I never liked the idea anyways, so now I have a good reason to not even consider it.

As for using a VHF with built-in AIS receiver, I considered that (the SH Matrix is mighty attractive!) but since I consider this a safety item, I feel that a transponder is more appropriate.

One question I have about the black boxes is why are their prices so different? You mention two models, Raymarine 650 and em-Trak. The first is about 800.- (at several places) the second is 550.- EM TRAK MARINE ELECTRONICS B100 AIS Class B Transceiver | West Marine
I am sure there are differences, but are they important for me?

As for the standalone system, the Vesper Watchmate 850.- would set me back 1100.- AIS WatchMate 850, twice as much as the em-Trak. Simple chartplotters go for as little as 200.-. Even if I got a better model than the minimum, an em-Trak with a spanking brand new chart plotter would be less than the Vesper. Other than the need of having to install an additional box somewhere, what are the disadvantages?

If it is not too much to ask, could you recommend a reasonable combination of a simple chartplotter and black box?

Again, THANK YOU!
 
#11 · (Edited)
A couple of suggestions:

1) Go out to one of the AIS web sites and zoom in on coverage for your area. Now they pretty much depend on someone having an AIS receiver on shore interfaced to the Internet that covers your cruising area. You may find that there is no real coverage of where you cruise. My experience in the Bay is that the majority of boats do not have AIS, if they do it is receive only (which kind of defeats the purpose since you can't see them.) Try this link for starters http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/home?level0=100&cb=4879

2) Consider a very inexpensive AIS receiver such as Smart Radio SR161 AIS Receiver. Tying into a chart plotter such as OpenCPN and you will get an idea of what is going on in your area. There are a couple on sale on ebay - lowest price is $60. Not a lot to pay to find out what is going on. If when out sailing you find the AIS plot is pretty much like the visual plot (unlikely) then you can keep if for a backup or put it back up for sale on Ebay.

3) You most likely know this from your research but you will have to get an MMSI should you choose a transceiver. Although you will be tempted to get one via Boat US or similar I strongly recommend you get an FCC radio license (cost about $12 per year.) If you ever take the boat out of the US you will need an international MMSI

Fair winds and following seas :)
 
#12 ·
A couple of suggestions:

1) Go out to one of the AIS web sites and zoom in on coverage for your area. Now they pretty much depend on someone having an AIS receiver on shore interfaced to the Internet that covers your cruising area. You may find that there is no real coverage of where you cruise....
This statement is going to confuse a lot of AIS newcomers.

Yes, the display of vessels on the marinetraffic website depends on someone having an AIS receiver interfaced to the internet. They depend on "volunteer" stations feeding their information into their not-so-real-time database, and if there is no such station in your area, their website will be missing lots of vessels.

But that has NOTHING to do with what you will see if you have a real AIS receiver on your boat. A real AIS receiver pulls the AIS transmissions directly from the large commercial traffic that you need to stay away from (and also from those annoying recreational class B transponders). It does not require any Internet coverage, so you will see vessels that the marinetraffic website misses.

All vessels >300 tons are required by SOLAS (international) and US DHS (domestic) to transmit class A AIS signals. So you will see these vessels if they are there. There's no "coverage" issue with this.

If you sail in an area with no commercial traffic, you may not need AIS unless you want to see the recreational boats that have it. If you sail in an area with significant commercial traffic, an AIS receiver will be very helpful. A full AIS transponder will allow you to be seen by other boats. Whether they will steer around you is another issue entirely. But in low visibility situations, it would provide added safety.
 
#30 · (Edited)
some additional information

Hey,

Some general and then more specific information:

Vessels that broadcast or don't broadcast AIS:
Where I sail (Long Island Sound, usually somewhere around Port Jefferson) there are large ferries that sail between Port Jeff and Bridgeport, Barges being towed in various ways, lots of pleasure craft, a good number of charter fishing boats and a number of commercial fisherman. I have an AIS receiver and there are lots of targets. All the 'big boys' have AIS. Many of the pleasure boats do too. NONE of the commercial or charter fishing boats do.

I like to sail at night. It's easy for me to spot the big boys, but I'm not so good at identifying their course. The AIS display makes it easy for me to see their heading and make sure I stay clear.

It's the charter fishing boats that cause me the most pain. Most of the time I'm day sailing and just out for fun. I try to stay away from people who are working for a living. If I have to alter course 10, 20, 30 degrees to stay away from them, I will do it. The charter boats seem to operate (to me) in just a crazy manner. The will zip from spot A to spot B, stop, drift, anchor for a few minutes, then will zip around some more. It always seems that if I see them, and alter course to avoid them, they will alter course again to aim right at me. Maybe I'm paranoid, maybe the just like to mess with me, I just don't know.

The pleasure boats transmitting are starting to become a pain because there are so many of them. There is a 75' motor yacht tied up at a dock in my harbor. It's broadcasting AIS info 24X7. EVERY time I leave or enter the harbor my AIS alarm goes off because I MUST be with 100' of this vessel when I leave or return to my mooring. Lots of other small boats now broadcast, and my alarm is starting to go off every time I sail. I am starting to just turn off the AIS alarms every time I drop my mooring.

AIS vs RADAR
If I were in limited visibility, and worried about seeing and being seen by other boats, I would get RADAR. No questions asked. AIS is nice to have, both receive and transmit, but from what I see, only a small amount of vessels broadcast and / or receive AIS. By adding AIS, you will see / be seen by less than 50% of the boats out there.

Specific makes / models of AIS.
IMHO, receiving AIS information is ONLY useful if you have it where you can see it. Receiving AIS info in the cabin and sending that info to a laptop sitting at the nav station does no good if no one is there to look at it. So, IMHO, you need to have AIS info at the helm. The cheapest way to do this is with the Standard Horizon GX2200. This has EVERYTHING: GPS receiver, AIS receiver, small display where you can see AIS targets, etc. It costs around $325.I would suggest this model if you don't have a chart plotter and don't want to add one or integrate the radio to anything else.

If you have a plotter (and it supports NMEA 2000) and want to add AIS receive, I would suggest either the Lowrance Link 8, which is around $300 (if you mount the VHS in the cockpit) or the Simrad HS35 / RS35 combo if you want to mount the radio below and have a wireless remote mic at the helm (the Simrad radio is also around $300 and the RS35 wireless mic is around $100).

If I were starting with next to nothing, I would buy a Lowrance HDS 5 chart plotter and fish finder (around $400) and the Lowrance link 8 (around $300)VHF with AIS.. For under $800 (add some cables, etc.) you have a complete 5" color plotter with sonar display, AIS / DSC / VHF, and you're set.

Barry
 
#31 ·
Re: some additional information

The pleasure boats transmitting are starting to become a pain because there are so many of them. There is a 75' motor yacht tied up at a dock in my harbor. It's broadcasting AIS info 24X7. EVERY time I leave or enter the harbor my AIS alarm goes off because I MUST be with 100' of this vessel when I leave or return to my mooring. Lots of other small boats not broadcast, and my alarm is starting to go off every time I sail. I am starting to just turn off the AIS alarms every time I drop my mooring.
Agreed. It's just rude. When installing AIS make sure the 'silent' function is readily accessible and use it. As Barry notes being able to adjust the alarm thresholds is important. Read the manual and be able to adjust alarms or you will lose your mind.

If I were in limited visibility, and worried about seeing and being seen by other boats, I would get RADAR.
I agree. In limited visibility AIS is no substitute for radar. Be aware that with the advent of AIS and reduced crew sizes on commercial ships the chances of getting a response to a radio call ("Northbound commercial traffic near bouy 83, this is sailing vessel little-red-dot") with anything other than a ship name are miniscule. With radar you know they are there; often that is plenty to avoid a hazard.
 
#32 ·
Its ludicrous to suggest because not everyone has AIS then you should not equip with AIS.

If your area has commercial fishing vessels operating without AIS then you should be DEMANDING changes to the law, or enforcement, to make the waterways more safe.

I can tell you, if I was at home and it was happening I would be picketing Parliament, the Fish Markets, any company and I would be sitting outside the water police station demanding action on safety instead of their normal drivel.
 
#33 ·
If your area has commercial fishing vessels operating without AIS then you should be DEMANDING changes to the law, or enforcement, to make the waterways more safe.
I don't care if the fisherman have AIS. I don't really care if ANYONE has AIS. It's MY responsibility to be alert, spot other vessels, and take steps to pass safely. I do appreciate that AIS exists and that the real large boats have it, and in times if limited visibility, and at night, I appreciate ANY boat that has it. But 99% of the time I don't need it or even look at it.

Take today for example, the weather today was beautiful: sunny, around 70 degrees, wind from 5-10 kts. I had 3 hours to spend on the water so my wife grabbed some snacks and water and we went sailing. I left my harbor and headed north. I make it north probably about 8 miles, then I turned and sailed back home. I saw 3 ferries, two large barges being towed, one 100' motor yacht (more about him in a minute) and probably 100 pleasure vessels. Since this discussion was on my mind I paid more attention to AIS than normal. All the big boats showed up on my list. I saw at least 10 more pleasure boats too. I and didn't care at all who showed up and who didn't because visibility was at least 20 miles. I don't NEED AIS at all when there is basically unlimited visibility. Of course, on the way out of the harbor and again on the way in my AIS alarm went off. Then a few more pleasure boats set it off too. One thing that is funny (in a sad way) is that when I got an AIS alarm today I would look at the screen to see what vessel caused it, and then I tried to get more info. MOST of the time the additional info was wrong - stating a boat was moored when it was sailing, or having a different name in the AIS info than on the stern of the vessel.

Regarding that 100' motor yacht: It's common to see boats that size in Port Jeff harbor and you see them in the sound too. This one went into Mt. Sinai harbor, which is rare because Mt S is small and there is almost NOTHING there. There is Ralph's Fishing station, a small place with about 50 slips, they sell bait, supplies and have a snack bar, the Mt. Sinai Yacht Club, another small place with about 50 slips, a bar, and food service, Oldman's Boat Yard - a full service boat yard (closed on the weekends) and the town Marina. The biggest boat that I have even seen in Mt Sinai is maybe 50 - 60' . This boat was at least 100'. Anyway, I followed him into the harbor, then I guess he realized he was in the wrong place and couldn't tie up anywhere, and then left. He was the one who was broadcasting one name on AIS and had another name on the vessel.

Barry
 
#40 ·
GX2000 would interface with your AIS and allow you to place DSC calls to other AIS vessels by selecting them off a list. Without this feature you need to manually enter a vessel's MMSI number using arrow keys - a process so tedious that you'll never do it. So a key question is "Do you plan to place any DSC calls?" If not, you don't need the GX2000.

Another option is to find a radio with a full numeric keypad, which makes entering MMSI numbers tolerable.
 
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#45 ·
Ha! This opens a whole new line of thought! Placing DSC calls is not terribly high on my list of priorities but the interface of this VHF with AIS might make the chartplotter upgrade unnecessary! I could just let the GX2000 (which is only insignificantly more expensive than the GX1600, compared to the price of a chartplotter) be the interface to the AIS black box. Of course this would not be as nice as having AIS targets nicely on a chartplotter but it should give the basic functionality. Possibly augmented by Jon Eisberg's Universal Manoevring Board for finer work.

And it would immediately slash the price of my upgrade to half.

This is great, keep the thoughts coming!!
 
#41 ·
Thinks may have changed since I bought my stuff, in fact, almost certainly have. One situation we have is that our Raymarine plotter can only transmit/receive data at one baud rate and the baud rate for our AIS is not the same as for the Raymarine network. Not a big issue for us since I am not much of a network guy - I don't need to see wind speed on the plotter because it is right in front of me on the independent wind display unit. I just hooked the AIS to the plotter at the higher baud rate. Might be a problem for others though, but hopefully the problem has now been solved.
 
#46 · (Edited)
Thinks may have changed since I bought my stuff, in fact, almost certainly have. One situation we have is that our Raymarine plotter can only transmit/receive data at one baud rate and the baud rate for our AIS is not the same as for the Raymarine network.
Any new boat electronics purchased today should be NMEA 2000, not NMEA 0183, and bitrate won't be an issue. NMEA 2000 is also a true network and doesn't require installing silly devices like multiplexors.

I find AIS-rx to be very useful here on Puget Sound. The ferries and commercial traffic all broadcast it. One major exception is that military vessels don't broadcast AIS, and there are a fair number of those around as well. I personally find this frustrating...it seems like they should broadcast AIS by default and turn it off if there is a security concern.

I've seen very few small fishing boats broadcasting AIS, but plenty of larger yachts do.

I turn AIS alarm off on my plotter and radio unless I'm sailing in reduced visibility. I don't hang out below while sailing and don't need an alarm when visibility is good. I still often use AIS in clear visibility to check on the speed and course of a boat that I first found by visual scan. I also use it to "see around corners" to avoid crossing the shipping lanes if traffic will be sitting there just around the point.
 
#49 ·
Its starting to look like a complete rewire of all your electrics and elctronics to put in an AIS.

There is a more simple way that only uses and AIS and a laptop... using the laptop as a chartplotter for free with OpenCpn and free downloadable CM93 charts.

You plug your AIS in to the laptop via a USB cable.

Then if you love it all then buy a dedicated chartplotter. etc.

:)

This way oit only costs you the price of your ais as you already own a PC, dont you?

Mark
 
#51 ·
Yes, if in addition to buying an AIS transponder, I replace the VHF and the GPS, this is pretty much all the electronics I have...

But if I choose the second solution, keep the old chartplotter and use a new VHF as the AIS output, then the wiring is relatively minimal: I need a connection from the AIS to the VHF, and from the GPS to the VHF. This should be it, right? (I hope my stone-age GPSMAP 162 will be able to provide suitable GPS information for the VHF but am relatively optimistic about it).

I played with opencpn on my laptop and it is an impressive piece of software. I love the fact that they use NOAA charts. There are two reasons why I don't think I will use it for navigation on the boat (expect perhaps to play with it or planning purposes).

One is stability. I am experiencing some hiccups with opencpn. This could be because I am doing something wrong, or because it is not yet updated to the current ubuntu version (the linux distro that I use; the current LTS is 14.04 while they still have 12.04).

The more important reason is that I essentially navigate from the cockpit, not from the nav station (remember, I am just a Bay sailor, not a circumnavigator). I can swing the chart plotter into the companionway so I can see it from the cockpit but it is also exposed to the elements. Can't do that with a laptop, would need an Itronix or something. Then it is not cheap and simple any more.
 
#52 ·
Theres an F'ING GPS in the F'ING AIS! Plug that into the VHF.

As for stability issues with OpenCpn which no one else has then.... Ummmm... What can I say LOL :D

Perhaps a good trick is to go to your chandler and read the instruction booklet with the AIS whilst looking at the back of the machine. Then you will get a better idea of how they work :)

Mark
 
#56 · (Edited)
All I can say is DUH!!! I guess what threw me off were the double asterisks on the SH home page for the radio that require it be connected to an external GPS for some functions, like navigating to a DSC call http://www.standardhorizon.com/inde...F6BFD311655C716F307&DivisionID=3&isArchived=0
But you are right, this must be for the case when no AIS is connected, I can't believe they would not read its GPS signal for such functions.

Man, you are right, this is even simpler than I thought. I think we are converging on a solution very fast.

And yes, opencpn is an amazing program, couldn't agree more.
 
#55 ·
Try plotting this on a manual plotting board.

I agree. It's funny how those who ridicule the "video game" technology and accuse sailors of not looking up from their screens somehow consider it superior to go down below to a nav station to do manual plots. A vector display like the OpenCPN one that you showed allows you to immediately process all the important data with a split-second glance. Vastly superior to all those other backup techniques.
 
#67 ·
I think your plan is great. The GX2000 will really make your AIS a whole, integrated system. The WiFi output will give you great flexibility for the future, if you choose to use it. The WiFi will get the AIS signal into any laptop or tablet, including an iPad, in a way that is more universally supported than the Bluetooth method that I have. (Some iPad software takes in AIS via WiFi, but I haven't seen anything on the iPad that takes it in via Bluetooth.)

If you're interested in playing with OpenCPN for the boat, I'd suggest that you check their website documentation for how to run it in "portable mode." Configure a freestanding version of it on an SD card or USB stick, including all the NOAA charts you want. Then you can stick the SD card into whatever computer you have, and away you go. If the computer has GPS built in (as do several Windows tablets), even better.

I work with computers more than I want to, but the OpenCPN stuff is configured to automatically run on the tablet at bootup. I hit the power button and 10 seconds later everything is running. It's that simple - once you have it configured the way you want. So for me it feels much more like running a dedicated touchscreen plotter than a computer with chartplotter software.

But keep that on the back burner. Get familiar with your system first.

FYI, here are a couple shots of my system from this past weekend. Since I sail in dry conditions 95% of the time, I mount the tablet right in the cockpit. I have a pouch for wet conditions, plus several mounting points down in the cabin if conditions get wet. The second picture gives you a good idea of the tablet's view-ability in full sunlight. We had our bimini down that day since it was cool outside.




Note the un-cool handheld GPS mounted right by the tablet. It's there as an always-on backup, and it records tracks for everywhere I go. I export the tracks to OpenCPN if I want to view them later.
 
#70 ·
Also, thanks for mentioning the XB-8000. I didn't know about that device and it looks like a very nice AIS transponder. You are right that it includes a lot of extra value for only a little extra money over the emtrak. I think I'll pick one of these up if I start doing AIS broadcast.

Can it read GPS over NMEA 2000 instead of using it's own built in GPS with an external antenna? I'd rather not have a second GPS antenna mounted and don't really want to have two devices broadcasting GPS-related PGNs on my network. The manual implies that it only uses it's internal GPS.
 
#71 ·
Can it read GPS over NMEA 2000 instead of using it's own built in GPS with an external antenna? I'd rather not have a second GPS antenna mounted and don't really want to have two devices broadcasting GPS-related PGNs on my network. The manual implies that it only uses it's internal GPS.
As a voluntarily equipped vessel you don't have to follow all the rules for AIS. Still it is worth noting that there are many good reasons that ITU, IMO, and USCG requirements are for an independent GPS for AIS.

Set up your AIS configuration properly (easy-peasy) and you won't have any location sentence issues on your network.
 
#74 ·
the radio I added this summer is the
The Standard Horizon Matrix AIS/GPS (GX2200)
Its a great addition to the boat. Not sure how to hook it to the Garmin 50S If I understand correctly there is one wire hook up. That's what the tech dude told me from Garmin. I just have not done yet. It has a lot of functionality that leaves me perplexed. I will mess around wit some over the winter.
 
#76 ·
Speaking as somebody who has never had anything fancier than a sounder, vhf, wind meter and handheld GPS this thread has been amazing!

I know I want AIS trancieve one day and the info here has really demystified it for me. Thanks to everyone, especially the OP, Dave and Mark.
 
#79 · (Edited)
VSWR of 2 isnt very good. Mine is 1.1:1

How far away is that closes boat you can see visually thats on Marine Traffic.com?

Got to Marinetraffic.com and click on the boat so the info page comes up and then click on Vessel Details. On that page look down the left side to the unit thats receiving the AIS signal... It will have the name of the receiving unit and next to it a small number thats a link. Click on tha link and it will show you the lat and lon of the receiving unit. Plot that and you will be able to see if you are further away, or obstructed, from the receiving unit.

It can be difficult to tell if you are transmitting effectively. Also you can wait till you see a boat with ais go past and ring him on the VHF and ask if he sees you.
 
#82 ·
The closest AIS target I could see on marinetraffic.com was a few (<3) miles away. Thanks for the info about how to find the receiving station. I looked at a target right now but it looks like the station has an inoperational webpage.

I am starting to wonder if something is, in fact, wrong with my transmissions. Your 1.1 SWR gives me pause! The only reason why I think I only get about 2 is that I have a relatively long coax run. Exactly 30' (since I bought 30' of cable and used it all). I could shave off 4' or 5' of that, it was just convenient to do the soldering sitting on the cockpit seat rather than cutting the cable and do it perched on the solar panel arch. I doubt this will make a huge difference.

Also, my antenna is not very high, on top of the solar panels, maybe 8' above the water, but that should be similar to what a powerboat has.

Not quite sure where to go from here. Haven't done any really diagnostics so far, was just glad to be done with putting all parts in place.
 
#80 ·
How long did you wait when testing the marine traffic site? With the slower class B transponders the refresh rate for all information is 15 mins if I'm not mistaken. Maybe 5 or 10... Not sure, haven't looked it up in a while. But the marine traffic sites probably also has a refresh rate as well for new vessels, sort of a preliminary period to make sure you are indeed a vessel and not some interference it's picking up.

In regards to the mmsi number, the site and other vessels are only receiving what your transponder is transmitting. So they have no affiliation with your application process.
 
#90 ·
Your connections need to be spot on. As exact as a forensic electrician can make them... If they were putting connectors on display in the Smithsonian your AIS connectors should be there... Perfect.

3 miles is a LONG way for ais marine traffic .com receivers.

I think you missed my point about the info on the marine traffic .com page. You can find the exact location of the receiving unit tha marinetraffic.com uses.
It will even have a lil map of its basic coverage area.

So when you find the base station Marine Traffic is using you will be able to see if your boat should be seen

In this photo the Green stick is the receiving unit at the chandlery. My blob is the top of screen.
Now look at the graphs and it will show you the distances it has been receiving AIS signals.
Because I am in direct line of sight (see map) i must be seen or my unit is up the crap.

 
#92 ·
No, I got the thing with the marinetraffic station link. The problem is that the website of one station here is down (404 error). Other stations work fine and give the equivalent information that you are posting from your side. (thanks for that, btw!).

As for the connections, guilty as charged! I clearly did not take that serious enough. I will redo all VHF connections for the AIS and also look at the radio connections. Just placed ANOTHER order for connectors and stuff (now the silver-plated Amphenols...)
 
#98 · (Edited)
Victory at last! (I think)

In case anyone is still reading this:

Took out the boat last weekend and things are definitely looking up.

First, I don't know why the VSWR was still showing as 2 last week. Now I am getting 1, see attached! Yes, I know 1.0 is physically impossible but the transponder believes it is darn near to it.

Second, my suspicion that I was just in-between two receiving stations for marinetraffic.com also seems to pan out. I sailed across the Bay close to one of them (for those who know the Upper Chessie, I anchored in Still Pond, which is a few miles away from the K3ARS station in Betterton). I showed up beautifully on the website, smack in the middle of Still Pond. I had planned to watch on my way back to the Western Shore until my signal disappeared but two things intervened: (a) my cell phone ran out of battery, so no web access, and (b) I had my hands full, beating single-hand into a 20+ knots West wind all day long. Getting a better grip on the range will have to wait for another time.

EDIT: I just played around on marinetraffic.com. Turns out it remembers my boat and it actually kept the last position it recorded for it. And this last position is --DRUMROLL-- right in my marina! Perhaps it can follow a signal better than picking it up 'de novo?' But whatever it is, it looks like everything is working perfectly, and I am visible over the whole Bay!

Third, once I figured out that I have to give OpenCPN the port number of the transponder (logging in to the transponder's WIFI is not enough; DUH in retrospect!), OpenCPN interfaces flawlessly with the transponder. Not only does it show all AIS targets perfectly (with a lot more detail right on the screen than my VHF radio does), but it also gets the GPS as an auxiliary benefit (no more attaching of the GPS 'puck' necessary).

So, there is the one uncertainty why the VSWR was high last week that I cannot explain. Other than that, everything seems to be working very nicely. I still have to organize the cables properly but other than that, I think I can declare the project finished.

If things remain as they are now, it is a resounding success. My expectations are exceeded.

THANK YOU for everybody that weighed in (in particular Dave, SVAuspicious and Mark of Sealife). Without your input I would have bought a system that would have cost a lot more, with much lower performance!
 

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#100 ·
Re: Victory at last! (I think)

...OpenCPN interfaces flawlessly with the transponder. Not only does it show all AIS targets perfectly (with a lot more detail right on the screen than my VHF radio does), but it also gets the GPS as an auxiliary benefit (no more attaching of the GPS 'puck' necessary)...
IIRC, I took a little heat before for recommending this as a good way to display your AIS data. Your radio display is OK, but as you can tell, OpenCPN's display is far more informative. I purchased a daylight viewable Windows8 tablet for $230, and I keep it mounted in my cockpit as my primary GPS/AIS display:



 
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