A.I.S. yes or no

[Yacht Castor]

After a long hiccup (8 Months) we are about to go back to the boat in Spain and resume our cruising life. Like most of you out there I have everything but the kitchen sink!!! no change that we do have a kitchen sink but we don’t have A.I.S.

Been thinking about it for so long....do I go down the cheap route and just have a USB type receiver which I can only use when running the laptop with Raymarine software hooked up to an E80 on deck or do I install into the Raymarine system? Only problem is all the connectors on the E80 are being used so will have to pay for lots of new magic boxes that cost the earth and seem to do little and will have to pay someone to install it for me. Do I keep it receive only or do I push the boat out and transmit as well. I can think of a hundred reasons for having it all and a hundred more for not bothering, "hay we have done OK up till now with eye ball and compass bearings and radar." If it was all not too expensive say about a couple of hundred squid I would go for it without thinking and convince her-on-board it was another essential safety item but......my mind says if your going to do something do it properly and that means about a grand plus....."hay we have done OK to date with eye bal............."what have you done? Someone convince me I should spend a wedge on this kit and come up with a way of making it acceptable to her-on-board. No gory video clips of yachts being mowed down by tankers please she gets a little nervous.

 

[maxi77]

Why not look at the Comar multi, it has NMEA and USB outputs so you can use it either way. It id a good unit and their after sales service is good too

 

[Stingo]

Only problem is all the connectors on the E80 are being used....

As far as I know, the Raymarine AIS interfaces with the E80 using NMEA, so no connectors are necessary even if you are using SeaTalk. Somewhere in the system, you will have an NMEA input/output.

The only complication is that the AIS works at 3800 baud and the rest of the NMEA works at 4800 baud. That is why the Raymarina AIS (both models) have two NMEA inputs and outputs, both clearly labelled ie an input & output at 4800 baud and an input & output at 3800 baud.

I am sure someone will be along to confirm this.

 

[vyv_cox]

I suggest it depends where you intend to cruise. When we lived in Holland and regularly cruised offshore we used the radar (no AIS) frequently. As we have moved steadily eastwards in the Med we have used it less and less, last season only turning it on once to check that it was OK. There have been very few occasions when AIS would have been of value, crossing traffic moving between Istanbul and the south of Greece probably being the only one.

 

[Yacht Castor]

Thanks a bundle Vyv just what my wife wanted to hear!

Seriously though I really think your right, if I was back crossing the channel numerous time a year in the fog and fading light I think I would go for it. Our present sailing is cruising around the Med as our fancy takes it. We don't do much fog and night sailing any more..........if we can help it.

 

[Monique]

I am adding an AIS which is an inbuilt function of my new SH2100 DSC VHF. As we also have radar, it is sufficient for even the busiest sea lanes.

Large ships show up nicely... However, finding a GRP sailboat which does not have a reflector is more of a challenge.

Fair winds

 

[macd]

Castor: check out www.jgtech.com who're doing the Advansea AIS RX100 for £99. You can download the manual from the site, which gives all the info you need about set-up. It has both USB and NMEA outputs. (There are other prices shown in different parts of the site, but the boss told me yesterday that £99 inc VAT is correct.)

Like you (and Vyv) I'm a bit ambiguous about the need for AIS in the quieter backwaters, but at that price it's a pretty attractive option to have aboard.

 

[Yacht Castor]

Thanks Macd, that looks very interesting even her-on-board can get excited at that price.

 

[serini]

AIS

Hi Castor,

cost me about £80 and very impressed see here:

http://www.oceancruisingclub.org/content/view/1937/82/

 

[Sy-Revolution]

Orwight mate!

We have the NASA unit hooked up to the C120 via NMEA and when fitted to a suitable ariel has been very useful. Especially for CPAs. Our night crossing from Sardinia to Tunisia was made very much more comfortable, once the fog came down, with it. If you're coastal sailing however it's not so nessesary.

Also having something of a back-up for the radar has got to make sense. Plus, it's not alot of outlay is it, in the great scheme of things?

When are you off?

Love to you and C !

C F 'n' W xx

 

[macd]

Hi Castor,

cost me about £80 and very impressed see here:

http://www.oceancruisingclub.org/content/view/1937/82/

That'll be the NASA one. I daresay they're much of a muchness, except the NASA unit uses a serial port rather than USB and doesn't seem to have dedicated NMEA output wiring. From what I recall there seem to be very mixed views on it: some, like you, love it (and not only because of price); some critical (evidently partly due to poor handbook and packaged software). For the most part I think NASA kit is excellent value, but having once sampled the company's after-sales service I try to avoid it.

Incidentally, do you know what 'NASA' stands for?
Need Another Soddin' Anemometer.

 

[Blue5]

We added the Digital Yacht AIS transceiver to our Raymarine C120, we needed the multiplexer but all up cost was £650. It really is a great bit of kit displaying targets with CPA and TCPA.

Like all electronic kit you can do without it but for me it eases the workload and thereby the stress in the cockpit.............

 

[ukmctc]

Get one, Nasa is good enough, and you cut open the cable oh no! yes and connect to your neama duffer, I did mine and its fantastic, works with my DSC radio and shows up all shipping (when they switch it on) thats out there on my Garmin. Its not hard to fit, just read the destructions carefully and follow to the letter, no need too employ anyone to fit it. Going to upgrade to a transponder next year when travelling in the med.

 

[Carmel2]

Its a big help on night passages.