AIS receive only or transponder?

[KellysEye]

>Radar enhancers...it doesnt feed any other information to the bridge watch such as vessel name, mmsi, course, speed , cpa etc, so all we can do is call "vessel in position blah blah blah this is survey ship blah towing 6k of arrays please alter course cos we cant !

We were on passage from Trinidad to Grenada at night when we saw a ship on an angled course off our port side. A ship broadcast on VHF 'sailing yacht in approximate position XXX, course 350 degress at 6.1 knots this is the ship Y. It was us and we callled back, they were towing an array and asked for us to pass ahead. We weren't convinced we would make it and pointed that as a yacht we can't guarantee to keep our speed and as Ribrage said a ship towing an array can't change course. We offered to pass behind and asked the length of the array. He said 'two miles and there is a white strobe on the end'. We couldn't see a strobe and we called him back - they had forgotten to switch it on.

Moral of this story I don't think you need AIS or See Me enhancer just common sense Mark 1 eyeballs and a VHF turned on. We do use radar in fog.

 

[fireball]

Of course I appreciate that most people cannot fit a 28-inch display. I am sorry if I did not make that clear, but I regard it as self-evident. There are plenty of solutions: my personal favourite would be not to overload a small display with excessive information -- i.e. have either separate displays for each type of data, or one display switched between different types of data.

I have got 2 displays - one can display AIS and the other can display Radar - both are chartplotters.
The One capable of displaying AIS gives no option for filtering other than overall range. Luckily the software version is such that it disregards Class B totally - however, if I upgraded to the next level it would display them - with (afaik) no ability to filter ... so if the Sunsail fleet happen to be around me then my screen would be filled with them ...
I would welcome the ability to treat class A and class B targets separately - both for display and alarm.

Here's two captures from my iPhone during the RtI last year:

and zooming in on Yarmouth

I have no doubt that those targets represent a fraction of the fleet that were out there ...
You may think that it's not too bad - especially the zoomed in one - but imagine if that was on your CP the whole time - with the only option being to display all the targets in a range or none at all ...

Tim - I did ask in the other thread - but not sure if you've read it - what leisure kit allows class filtering? Sorry - ignore that - you've just answered in the other thread! Thanks:

http://www.vespermarine.co.uk/ (No commercial connection)

 

[Playtime]

Now imagine it's you as the hapless skipper of 'Saucy Sue' as you wend your way through the shipping lanes (see shipping lanes thread) transmitting your errors of judgement to all & sundry - leaving a trail for the authorities to pour over at their leisure in the weeks before your court appearance.

I think I'll stay incognito.

I disagree.

If you are a competent skipper and have confidence in your judgement, you might be very glad of the AIS track to back up your claim that the other skipper was at fault.

 

[ribrage]

I have got 2 displays - one can display AIS and the other can display Radar - both are chartplotters.
The One capable of displaying AIS gives no option for filtering other than overall range. Luckily the software version is such that it disregards Class B totally - however, if I upgraded to the next level it would display them - with (afaik) no ability to filter ... so if the Sunsail fleet happen to be around me then my screen would be filled with them ...
I would welcome the ability to treat class A and class B targets separately - both for display and alarm.

Here's two captures from my iPhone during the RtI last year:

and zooming in on Yarmouth

I have no doubt that those targets represent a fraction of the fleet that were out there ...
You may think that it's not too bad - especially the zoomed in one - but imagine if that was on your CP the whole time - with the only option being to display all the targets in a range or none at all ...

Tim - I did ask in the other thread - but not sure if you've read it - what leisure kit allows class filtering? Sorry - ignore that - you've just answered in the other thread! Thanks:

the joys of a two inch screen

 

[fireball]

the joys of a two inch screen

Its 3.5" ... the screen ...

 

[ribrage]

>Radar enhancers...it doesnt feed any other information to the bridge watch such as vessel name, mmsi, course, speed , cpa etc, so all we can do is call "vessel in position blah blah blah this is survey ship blah towing 6k of arrays please alter course cos we cant !

We were on passage from Trinidad to Grenada at night when we saw a ship on an angled course off our port side. A ship broadcast on VHF 'sailing yacht in approximate position XXX, course 350 degress at 6.1 knots this is the ship Y. It was us and we callled back, they were towing an array and asked for us to pass ahead. We weren't convinced we would make it and pointed that as a yacht we can't guarantee to keep our speed and as Ribrage said a ship towing an array can't change course. We offered to pass behind and asked the length of the array. He said 'two miles and there is a white strobe on the end'. We couldn't see a strobe and we called him back - they had forgotten to switch it on.

Moral of this story I don't think you need AIS or See Me enhancer just common sense Mark 1 eyeballs and a VHF turned on. We do use radar in fog.

In good conditions and with a switched on crew you dont need any kit , it just enhances and aids the decisions that are made and often enables the decisions to be made long before you see us :+)

we have 8 tail buoys usually 100 m apart, the lights (which are partly my job) are self contained and sometimes work off towed generators (aquagens) and water tight battery boxes as the logistics of powering them from the streamers is unreliable.

they usually go out when we get fishing gear around the towed generators and the first we know about it is when the power starts to dim, there are GPS modules in the tails so we know exactly where they are 24/7 providing we have power, hence we can guide you around them .

we encounter plenty of vessels in our day to day job and have never had a bad response from any sailing vessel requested to alter course to avoid our equipment, fishing boats are a different story altogether

 

[ribrage]

Its 3.5" ... the screen ...

My apologies

Like my ex wife always said " size does matter" !

 

[fireball]

My apologies

Like my ex wife always said " size does matter" !

It's the resolution that counts ...

 

[Colvic Watson]

I'm afraid you are misrepresenting my opinion -- whether by accident or intent I cannot tell.
One of the common arguments against yachts installing AIS B is that it will clutter the displays of ships. This appears to be based on yotties perceptions of clutter, based on very small screens, so it does not apply to ships, where screens are (by law) considerably bigger.

Of course I appreciate that most people cannot fit a 28-inch display. I am sorry if I did not make that clear, but I regard it as self-evident. There are plenty of solutions: my personal favourite would be not to overload a small display with excessive information -- i.e. have either separate displays for each type of data, or one display switched between different types of data.

You are welcome to your opinion, and to express it. OTOH, you might like to consider the possibility that the reason my mind appears (to you) to be closed is because my opinion is based on considerably more knowledge of the subject than you appear to have.

You keep the knowledge weel hidden Tim, never once on this topic, in all its threads and in the many posts you submit have you acknowledged the safety problems that class B signals cause except to suggest that we should all have bigger screens, though admittedly you have slightly varied that with a current suggestion to have more screens . Two years ago I was a relatively lone voice; but now that every "Saucy Sue" and "Passing Wind" have class B transponders pinging away and the chartplotter screens are filling up there are many others contributing their voices about the impact this has on safety and in busy areas the virtual removal of class A signals as useful data. I have no doubt that in another two years you will be saying that all we need are more displays or bigger displays and that class B is still beautiful.

 

[Twister_Ken]

YTwo years ago I was a relatively lone voice...

Ahem, and me!

 

[Colvic Watson]

Ahem, and me!

My apologies, TK and me were relatively lone voices

 

[fireball]

My apologies, TK and me were relatively lone voices

Oi ... I've never been a fan of Class B either ... and said as much on here ...

When's our first meeting? Have you got a transpoder set to NavAid so we can find it? And can we call out the RNLI when the beer runs out?

 

[Colvic Watson]

OK, apart from TK and Fireball, I was for a short time in 2006 a relatively lone voice on the dangers of class B.

 

[fireball]

OK, apart from TK and Fireball,

.... what have the Romans done for us .......

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

erm.... why not just switch off AIS reception/display when in the Solent?

Surely most of us could cope with that tinsy winsy bit of water without AIS????

 

[Colvic Watson]

erm.... why not just switch off AIS reception/display when in the Solent?

Surely most of us could cope with that tinsy winsy bit of water without AIS????

Oh if only. Switching off Class B is not an option on 95% of AIS sets and I want to know where the big boys are, not the ones with big boys' toys. And it's not just the Solent, last year the East Coast had its share of Class B clutter.

 

[fireball]

erm.... why not just switch off AIS reception/display when in the Solent?

Surely most of us could cope with that tinsy winsy bit of water without AIS????

Well - I could do - but I'd have to put another switch in ... but as I said - I like to use it to see whats coming around the corner ....

It's not a massive problem - just an irritating one as you know - as well as I do - that to write software to filter what the user requires isn't exactly an arduous task ...
Actually - it's not a problem to me at all at the moment - I can't display Class B at all ... until I look for a replacement plotter...

 

[VicMallows]

it's not a problem to me at all at the moment - I can't display Class B at all .

Lucky you. My version of the NASA engine is not 'supposed' to be able to display ClassB ...... but it does. (I guess I had one of the last ones of that version, and they had already 'upgraded' the chip).

Vic

 

[prv]

Oh if only. Switching off Class B is not an option on 95% of AIS sets and I want to know where the big boys are

Can't you see them?

Pete

 

[Searush]

Can't you see them?

Pete

Maybe he's too busy below watching screens to see them coming over the horizon or round the next headland!

Nice & cosy down there too.