AIS receiver, must have?

[stefan]

Haven't noticed any discussion abt. AIS on the board. I'm planning to get a set for the season. I expect it to give valuable added info about where 35 knot ferry cats etc lurk when sight is reduced. - Anyone with experience? Where did you buy it? Prices seem to start at 200 €, are there differences in performance? cheers, Stefan

 

[tcm]

er, not at all necessary. But fun i suppose.

 

[DAKA]

Are you thinking of using in addition to Radar or as a substitute ?

35 knot Ferry should be the last of your concerns, they keep a constant watch and can easily move out of your way, waves are frightening to see but unless you are in shallow water they are not dangerous.

 

[steverow]

AIS is best done with the NASA engine attached to an AIS capable Laptop plotter, such as Maxsea, Software on Board, or chart Navigator Pro.
The standard NASA unit with visual display is not all that intuitive, it only does north up, which can be confusing if your radar is head up, plus it has funny little symbols, not labels as on a PC plotter.
It's not an essential bit of kit, and no substitute for a decent radar, but very useful to see what is out there, especially if you are in a busy shipping area or regularly cross separation zones.

Steve.

 

[Hurricane]

Have a look at http://www.memory-map.com/
Click Products (Software) then Memory-Map Professional
Not in the UK yet but iminent

 

[Oldhand]

You can add ShipPlotter to the list of software which will plot AIS data from an NMEA output or direct from the discriminator output of a suitable receiver if the PC's sound chip is up to it. See: http://www.shipplotter.com/

 

[steverow]

Yes, I already run Bev's program in conjunction with my FT847, and an old IBM laptop, but I thought that it might be stretching it a bit for non-tecchie types.

Steve

 

[splosh]

Hey, just noticed.... If anyone has a Raymarine C, or E Series plotter, then the latest software download from Raymarine has
AIS capability...
Hav'nt tried it yet but Raymarine say you need an AIS engine (and connect via nmea).
This has got to be cheaper and easier than buying a whole dedicated AIS system (for C/E series owners).....

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[stefan]

Thanks for all comments. I have a Furuno Navnet plotter/radar w. good open scanner. On PC I run Winchart Nexus Pro and Tsunamis. I have used radar/plotter since 1988 and even so still find it difficult sometimes to be sure if the eccho is a buoy or a ship or something else. Of course the tail on moving targets help a lot but still my opinion is that AISprobably reduce the amount of targets that need your attention. considering the reasonable cost involved I cannot see any reason why not. Fore sure more useful than gold plated valve covers (tcm)?

 

[Talbot]

if/when you have AIS, dont rely on it to tell you where all the ships are rather than radar, as not all ships are showing their AIS ident (defects etc). However, as a means of resolving what radar contacts actually look like, and as a great CPA tool (e.g. www.shipplotter.com) then it definitely has advantages.

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey, just noticed.... If anyone has a Raymarine C, or E Series plotter, then the latest software download from Raymarine has
AIS capability...
Hav'nt tried it yet but Raymarine say you need an AIS engine (and connect via nmea).
This has got to be cheaper and easier than buying a whole dedicated AIS system (for C/E series owners).....

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

If you own a Raymarine E Series, cheaper isnt an issue <g>

Richard