AIS on laptop (without wifi!)

Kelpie

Kelpie

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I'd like to upgrade from my old NASA AIS receiver to a transponder. As my plotter is a pretty clunky old 5" Lowrance I would rather have the display on my laptop which will be running OpenCPN.
I'm not really sure where to start. Can I actually get one of these 'black box' AIS transponders to talk to a laptop, and if so, how?
 
I believe that my XB8000 transceiver can take to my laptop using a USB cable although I've only ever used it over wifi with OpenCPN as the unit is hidden behind a panel so it's not easily accessible.

Wifi is much easier so either buy a laptop with wifi or buy a USB wifi adapter for £10 the old laptop.

Richard
 
RichardS said:
I believe that my XB8000 transceiver can take to my laptop using a USB cable although I've only ever used it over wifi with OpenCPN as the unit is hidden behind a panel so it's not easily accessible.

Wifi is much easier so either buy a laptop with wifi or buy a USB wifi dongle for the old laptop.

Richard
Click to expand...

Just to claify, the laptop itself has wifi, it's the AIS units I've looked at that do not.
I only mentioned the 'no wifi' thing in case some smart alec suggested I use the laptop to go to marinetraffic.com
 
RichardS said:
I believe that my XB8000 transceiver can take to my laptop using a USB cable although I've only ever used it over wifi with OpenCPN as the unit is hidden behind a panel so it's not easily accessible.

Wifi is much easier so either buy a laptop with wifi or buy a USB wifi dongle for the old laptop.

Richard
Click to expand...
Yup, my similar non WiFi Vesper XB6000 does, although I have actually a separate WiFi unit. Many of the mainstream transponders have a USB connection for connecting a laptop.
 
You can connect any AIS to a laptop - if it doesn’t have WiFi or USB, then a cheap USB serial adapter will accept NMEA0183. You could even take in N2k via a USB CAN interface, though this would be by far the most expensive and inconvenient and not recommended.

Pete
 
Emtrak make AIS with or without wifi, but most models have a USB connection.

Personally (and i'm aware this will vary, depending how you use your laptop etc) i prefer a USB connection, as i tend to use the wifi on the laptop to connect to a hotspot.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Emtrak make AIS with or without wifi, but most models have a USB connection.

Personally (and i'm aware this will vary, depending how you use your laptop etc) i prefer a USB connection, as i tend to use the wifi on the laptop to connect to a hotspot.
Click to expand...
I've just had a look, seems to be just the thing - B924 class B transceiver, rugged, lots of connectivity, great product support.... £720!?
 
prv said:
You could even take in N2k via a USB CAN interface, though this would be by far the most expensive and inconvenient and not recommended.
Click to expand...

Whilst £130-or-so for an actisense ngw-1 is a very expensive add-on for an AIS unit, if the OP has an N2K network and the PC is the preferred navigation device it may not be that bad an option given that the side effect would be the other significant N2K data would also then be available in OpenCPN
 
I must admit that I have never understood why AIS transponders are so expensive when, AFAIK they are basically a VHF set with a GPS input but without the voice input. At the moment I have a receiver only which cost about £100 and at least allows me to see others.
 
Kilo said:
I've just had a look, seems to be just the thing - B924 class B transceiver, rugged, lots of connectivity, great product support.... £720!?
Click to expand...

Your price is incorrect. Retail is £702, but one can be purchased for £640. Also, bare in mind that the GPS is fully built in and it includes a splitter, so no other bits to add on or fit outside.
 
Well budget is, inevitably an issue.
The only reason I am considering a standalone AIS linked to the laptop is because I can't quite stretch to an Onwa AIS Plotter at £475.
Yeah, sucks to be me.
 
Just playing with a raspberry pi and opencpn and associated packages. Hooked up a dtv input from a wire antenna and its working really well for the ais. I was surprised how quick it picked up targets and information. I've fed it into a cheap 12v tv through hdmi port. It's sat in the spare bedroom upstairs at the moment ticking away nicely. GHA is the normal exponent of the Pi but got to say I'm impressed by its performance. It gives lots of options for not a lot of cash. You could probably run it on your laptop, and input the antenna through the dtv dongle like I have done on the Pi. You will also have a back up nav system then.
 
Kelpie said:
I'd like to upgrade from my old NASA AIS receiver to a transponder. As my plotter is a pretty clunky old 5" Lowrance I would rather have the display on my laptop which will be running OpenCPN.
I'm not really sure where to start. Can I actually get one of these 'black box' AIS transponders to talk to a laptop, and if so, how?
Click to expand...
We did it by hooking up the AIS transponder to the NMEA backbone and getting a second hand Raymarine MFD/Chartplotter (cost €300) which is WIFI enabled. Then we have a Samsung tablet (with a bluetooth keyboard) at the chart table which has the Raymarine WIFI apps. All the info received by the plotter in the cockpit is repeated on the tablet at the chart table.
 
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