AIS for dummies

Lloydus123

Lloydus123

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AIS is next on the list, transponder or receiver ? Price difference? And a basic guide of what I need please, I’ve read and watched so many videos etc I’m now more clueless than when I started . I currently run a lowrance global map 3500c and vhf icom ic-m421
 
Transciever ie a transmitter, which you can turn off with a few button presses. So you then have the best of both worlds.
 
SpiderMoobs said:
Transciever ie a transmitter, which you can turn off with a few button presses. So you then have the best of both worlds.
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Just to be clear, if you are in a known area of pirates eg 11 Downing St, turn the fecking broadcast off asap.
 
An EM-Trak B-100 AIS Transceiver would work for you.
It has NMEA 2000 and NMEA 0183 outputs so would work with the Lowrance.
I'd also suggest a separate aerial rather than using a splitter.

Edit: see PVB's answer below!
 
Lloydus123 said:
AIS is next on the list, transponder or receiver ? Price difference? And a basic guide of what I need please, I’ve read and watched so many videos etc I’m now more clueless than when I started . I currently run a lowrance global map 3500c and vhf icom ic-m421
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Your Lowrance 3500C can't display AIS data, so you'll need a new plotter too.
 
You could always display ais data separately on a tablet / smartphone via a WiFi transmitter or by USB into a laptop.

We use a Digital Yacht's WLN10 to transmit the AIS info via WiFi and then display it in navionics or OpenCPN. Seems to work well.

Probably cheaper than a new plotter. I think that the WLN10 was around £100 on a boat show special.
 
Very difficult if your budget is limited. In the long run, only an integrated system will satisfy you for regular offshore sailing. For the occasional trip, a stand-alone receiver will be the most economic solution and will add greatly to the pleasure of something like a cross-Channel trip.
 
Bristolfashion said:
You could always display ais data separately on a tablet / smartphone via a WiFi transmitter or by USB into a laptop.

We use a Digital Yacht's WLN10 to transmit the AIS info via WiFi and then display it in navionics or OpenCPN. Seems to work well.

Probably cheaper than a new plotter. I think that the WLN10 was around £100 on a boat show special.
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This sounds like a good route to take , I use both phone and tablet , I think I’ll look into this

thanks
 
Kelpie said:
Where did you get it? I can only find it in stock at AliExpress
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I have a friend who lives in China and got it for me (and gave it to me as a gift when I met him in Shanghai too, which was nice of him).
 
Consider a few points along the lines "cheap may well be (very) expensive on the long run".
- You want to be seen. Sometimes fishing boats turn their Tx off not to give away a rich ground but they might still receive = need a transceiver
- At some point you'll likely use a tablet, phone, etc for navigation = need wifi
- Splitters introduce a possible point of failure and add measurable attenuation to the system, use a dedicated antenna
- Consider the B+/ SOTDMA protocol: 5W, more frequent position updates. Not cheap but likely more future proof than CSTDMA.
 
I had the same issue when trying to actually find a Matsutec unit for sale in the UK, the only unit I found in China wanted $800.00 for shipping suggesting that they didn't actually have one in stock.
I ended up buying a Digitalyacht unit from Cactus for a very good price, only a few pounds more than a Matsutec although mine is only a "black box" unit.
A standalone unit is actually a very good option though, one of the most useful features (in my opinion) of AIS is being able to show CPA and TCPA values so worth bearing in mind.
Transponders are more expensive than receivers, but I wanted to be easily identifiable to other traffic hence my choice of a transponder. My unit does have a button for turning off transmission if it's ever needed though.
Don't forget you'll either need a separate antenna for it, or a splitter. If going for a splitter and transponder, make sure it is compatible with a transmitter.
The advantage of a separate antenna may be that it gives you an emergency VHF antenna option but, of course, it may be more of a headache in cable routing etc.
Digitalyacht make an active lossless splitter which is the option I chose, our VHF reception has actually improved since fitting it. No idea why, it certainly makes no claims to, whether it adds a slight signal boost to compensate for the extra connections, or whether I had a cable that wasn't snugged down properly before I really don't know.

I have no connection with Digitalyacht by the way, just happy (so far) with the products, although it is very early days!

Do try and give some consideration to future expansion. My unit is a basic transponder with USB and multiplexer. I can add WiFi to it if I want to by purchasing yet another unit, for not much more money you can buy a unit with everything included if that's a route you might want to follow in the future.

Disclaimer: I'm very new to AIS, but have spent the last few days on a commercial vessel delivery from Liverpool to the Medway (currently storm bound in Wales.) I've blown away by just how useful CPA and TCPA data really is, if you're not familiar with it, watch a few youtube videos on how it works and what it does, it may well sway any decisions.
 
pvb said:
Your Lowrance 3500C can't display AIS data, so you'll need a new plotter too.
Click to expand...

There are many FREE ways to do it ...... and the guy is typing into a computer - most likely a laptop - on this forum ....

So he could download OPENCPN or SEACLEAR and display his AIS there .... Free software.

My setup is separate antenna on the pushpit rail .... Radargadgets AIS USB Rx unit to my laptop (Acer One) and displayed on SEACLEAR Chart plotting software.

I have a Lowrance 3500C as well ... which feeds GPS data to my VHF and Laptop .... I also have a stand alone GPS Puck via Bluetooth if needed.

I agree that the 3500C is old hat but its still usable ...
 
For what it’s worth, I have a Matsutec HP-33a with a dedicated antenna on a pole at the pushpit. It feeds a Yakker NMEA wifi bridge, so I can see AIS data on my iPad via Navionics: the data stream has the side benefit of providing gps position data to the iPad which is wifi so doesn’t have built in gps. So it eminently possible to get navigation software, AIS display et al on a tablet or pc without forking out for a new plotter.
All that said, my main navigational tool is an ancient Raymarine network with autopilot, radar and plotters at helm and chart table. At some point in time, the system will fall over and need replacing. When it does, I will be looking at a plotter for the helm with an iPad at the chart table linked to the plotter via wifi. The only reason I’ve gone down the route of a wifi output for the AIS is so that the helm can have AIS on display if we loose someone overboard: all our lifejackets have an AIS MOB beacon fitted so we need to be able to provide the helm with a display if the worst happens. Couldn’t mount the HP33a at the helm, hence the wifi route.
 
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