AIS transponder/wifi/tablet

[bromleybysea]

I upgraded my navionics charts last season only to find that they wouldn't load onto my old Lowrance plotter as it didn't have sufficient memory. It's not a major issue as I have a PC based system on the nav desk below running Navionics on PC Plotter and I mainly use Navionics in the cockpit on a tablet though the Lowrance unit is handy as it's pretty bullet-proof and readable in sunlight
(just about). I have an AIS receiver that feeds the PC below via a usb cable. I'd like to have an AIS transponder that could send info to a tablet running Navionics or/and Savvy Navvy in the cockpit. Ideally also a plotter that could display up to date charts. Budget is limited but it looks like a AIS Wi-Fi transponder could be had for about £5-600 quid and a plotter for about the same. Comments and suggestions very welcome!

 

[Refueler]

ONWA combined Plotter and AIS transponder .... all in one kit ...

Then have NMEA4WiFi plexor by Vela Naviga ... you can have your AIS / GPS data anywhere you want then by cable (NMEA) USB and WiFi simultaneously.

Here for official UK dealer - excellent to deal with ..

Home

And Vela plexors :

Multiplexers

All for a lot less than the money you are considering .....

Oh ... and Navionics runs on the ONWA (just need to check which format as Garmin 'formatted' Navionics doesn't).

You also get free K charts of all regions you want.

I have no commercial connection - I am just a very happy user of the above gear ...

My Onwa feeds out AIS to my Garmin MFD ... my Android tablet ... my Smartphone ... my Acer One PC .... and any guest on board who wants via WiFi.

 

[bromleybysea]

Thanks. That's all helpful.

 

[Refueler]

Thanks. That's all helpful.

Of course there are other ways to do and I do not try to downgrade other ...

But given your opening quest - I took the budget / easy setup route for suggestion.

I know some will argue about this - but I really do not understand why other such as Garmin / Raymarine etc. don't also offer integrated one stop units ... seems the Chinese with ONWA / Matsutec / Zianhu (?) etc have done it .. kept prices down .. are able to use not only recognised Chart Formats but also K-Charts etc.
When I think that for less than 600 quid - I have full charting .. AIS ... and WiFi out ?? OK - that Plotter is now former product line (KP-39A) ... but lack of screen size is not an issue ... given that WiFi is feeding out to Tablet ... my Ultra 90 Garmin MFD etc etc.

 

[Stemar]

I have the receive only version of this and it talks to my tablet happily via wifi

QK-A026 AIS Receiver with NMEA Multiplexer + WiFi + GPS

A bit cheaper than most options

 

[Plum]

I upgraded my navionics charts last season only to find that they wouldn't load onto my old Lowrance plotter as it didn't have sufficient memory. It's not a major issue as I have a PC based system on the nav desk below running Navionics on PC Plotter and I mainly use Navionics in the cockpit on a tablet though the Lowrance unit is handy as it's pretty bullet-proof and readable in sunlight
(just about). I have an AIS receiver that feeds the PC below via a usb cable. I'd like to have an AIS transponder that could send info to a tablet running Navionics or/and Savvy Navvy in the cockpit. Ideally also a plotter that could display up to date charts. Budget is limited but it looks like a AIS Wi-Fi transponder could be had for about £5-600 quid and a plotter for about the same. Comments and suggestions very welcome!

If you have an AIS that does not transmit on wifi but has a NMEA connection you can buy just the wifi transmitter for £55. Works well. Been using mine for 6 years to make my ais visible on my tablet. Yakker

 

[Refueler]

If you have an AIS that does not transmit on wifi but has a NMEA connection you can buy just the wifi transmitter for £55. Works well. Been using mine for 6 years to make my ais visible on my tablet. Yakker

No disrepect and glad you are enjoying 6 yrs use ... but have you looked at the Vela-Navega units ?? Similar price of about 50 quid ... but so much more ...

Nmea4Wifi​

This multiplexer allows bidirectional serial and wifi communication between yoursmart-phone, tablet or laptop and your boat instrumentation. The system has four opto-isolated Nmea 0183 input ports and one Nmea 0183 output port. The system also has an input/output USB port. One of the 4 input ports can be configured to receive SeaTalk1 data which will be converted to Nmea 0183 data. Wifi communication can use both the UDP and the TCP internet protocols. In total there can exist 6 input streams of data (4 serial, 1 UDP and 1 TCP) and 3 output streams of data (1 serial, 1 UDP and 1 TCP). The 6 input streams can be filtered, combined and transmitted to the receivers on any of the 3 output streams. Serial output can also be filtered. You can use this multiplexer in different ways. You can use it with a PC running navigation software such as OpenCPN or you can use it with several free Apps for Android or Ios. In addition you can get Sonar Chart Live maps on your Navionics Boating HD app.​

ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Microcontroller: ESP32 (2 cores – 4MB – 240 MHz)
Power Supply Voltage: 7V up to 16V DC
Power Consumption:
less than 90mA with Wifi On
less than 45mA with Wifi OFF
less than 10mA with Wifi OFF and Serial OFF
Nmea 183 Input Ports: P1, P2, P3, P4 - optical isolated
Nmea 183 Output Port: P5 - RS-422 compatible
USB Port: based on P1 and P5
SeaTalk1 Input Port: based on P4
Baud Rates:
P1 & P2 (4800, 9600, 19200 or 38400
P3 & P4 (4800 or 9600) 3840
P5 (4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200)
Nmea 0183 Sentence Filtering: on the 6 inputs and on the serial output
Firmware Update: Over The Air (without cables)

It means that not only can you combine data from various units into one or more streams out ... you can even pick up external WiFi such as a weak marina signal and rebroadcast via the unit ... it also streams on USB as well as the NMEA's and WiFi out ...

It certainly 'blew me away' when I hooked up my older NMEA2WiFi unit ...

I have the 4 unit to fit to latest boat and the older 2 will go back to my other boat.

I have no commercial or other connection to Vela-Navega ... just a very happy customer. I know quite a number of others who have installed these units and had great results as well.

 

[Poecheng]

Thanks @Plum and @Refueler for your posts as I hadn't realised how easy this might be.
My nav system just works and so I have never had to get my head round it all. I have st60+ instruments, Ray AIS650 transceiver and C90W swivelling at helm plus Autopilot.
I wanted a tablet with AIS in addition to the C90W as (i) the AIS is a bit difficult to work with on the C90W IMHO and (ii) wanted it it for Mrs P to see the traffic herself better.
I have ordered the 4 unit from Vela Navega per Refueler and have seen where I can splice it in to my system - there is a Seatalk junction box under the chart table !

 

[Refueler]

Keep us updated please ...

Note that it accepts Seatalk1 .. not NG