AIS engine

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cyrilslugg

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I'm looking to connect an AIS engine engine to the new toy (SH CP180i) I bought at the LIB this week. The Nasa one would seem to be the obvious choice but I've come across a US discussion that raves on about a SR161 engine. Anyone got any experience of it or where I could get hold of it in the UK? Here's a link.
 
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Anyone got any experience of it or where I could get hold of it in the UK?

[/ QUOTE ]It's listed by Pelagic Systems at £288. Why not just order from Milltech Marine in the US? At $189 plus shipping, it should be a lot cheaper even after paying import duty & VAT.
 
Could you say why the Easy AIS has a higher spec ? At 1st glance it seems both will do the same job. (I was about to order the NASA engine)


Thanks
 
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Look also at Easy AIS. Much higher spec although more expensive. (£180 from MES)

[/ QUOTE ]Not sure it's a much higher spec, but it's certainly easier to find in the UK, and a lot cheaper than at MES. I think MES charge about £7 shipping, bringing their price to £187. Worth noting it's only £169 including shipping from JG Technologies.
 
I was advised that the Easy AIS was a far better quality build and better sensitivity. As I have said on other posts I am not an electronic engineer but from the Easy installation booklet I can quote the sensitivity as -112dBm for those that are. If you can get data on the NASA you can compare if you understand these things. Certainly it is very well built and the PC boards have what they call a "conformal coating" which makes them resistant to humidity (although the case
is not waterproof). I don't have any data on the NASA one but have always thought their kit was built to minimum spec to achieve the very low price. I have had 2 Navtex from NASA in the past, and the first failed completely after 12 months and the one I have now has a screen that goes very dark in daylight and the programme keeps dumping and needing to be reset so I am not impressed with NASA stuff generally. You pays yer money and takes yer choice I guess.... your call. As far as price is concerned they have just brought a new model out. I think the cheaper ones on offer are the previous model.
 
The original poster asked about the SR161, and your reply to him seemed to imply that the EasyAIS was a higher spec than the SR161, which I doubt. However, it seems that you were comparing with the Nasa AIS engine, and I'd agree with you that the Nasa product is inferior.
 
The price difference is amazing! Bought from the US it is cheaper than the NASA engine.

BUT, why do Pelagic describe the SR-161 as

Recommended for shore use only.

While miltech describe the same thing as

specially built for recreational marine environments ?!
 
Their description probably reflects the fact that the SR161, like the Nasa and EasyAIS engines, only receives one channel at a time (rather than both channels simultaneously).

If buying from the US, remember that shipping costs can be quite high - even on small packages - and don't forget duty/VAT charges. Packages sent by FedEx, UPS, etc always have duty/VAT charged, and packages sent by US Post usually get duty/VAT charged.
 
Mailspeed were selling the nasa AIS Engine2 at ExCel at £109 and giving away a £10 voucher. I have one and it works very well. It looks well built and is very sensitive.
 
I have the nasa ais engine mark2 and am very impressed with it. It's a well engineered receiver. Nasa's RF products are made in the UK and are highly regarded. They won the prestigious IEE medal for inovation for their HF3 and have supplied vhf and uhf products for a range of demanding applications.
 
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I have the nasa ais engine mark2 and am very impressed with it.

[/ QUOTE ]Is that the white one? See they've added indicator lights at last! Did they fix the RS232 flaw? Unfortunate that there's nothing about this product on the dreadful Nasa website.
 
Thanks guys/girls. Sorry I didn´t reply sooner - been out of circulation. I´m tempted to get the 161 as it seems pretty cheap and I`ve a mate who lives in the US. The US review I read was using the 161 on a boat and suggested that the Nasa was slow to pick up the targets compared to the 161. However, the later version of the Nasa may address that and the complaint that there were no lights to indicate if the unit was functioning. If I buy a 161, I`ll let you know how it works.
 
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