AIS

poter said:
I am thinking of installing ais on Shady, but do I need a reciever and a transmitter or can I just use the software of the Web on my laptop?
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You need a receiver as a minimum. The web ones do not use the original signals but only relay some of the signals, plus you need internet access.

You have a choice of a freestanding unit with its own display, but it is more common to display the information on a chart plotter or on a PC if you are using that for navigation. You can get a transmitter as well, but not everybody agrees on the value of this.
 
poter said:
Thank you
If I don't have a transmitter i assume shady won't show up?
As I will be sailing single handed on the west coast of Italy and across to Siciy where there is quite a lot of traffic do I need a transmitter?
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if you’re going to rely on all that traffic keeping clear of you, it’d be a good idea. If you’re going to take responsibility for your own safety, aided by an AIS picture of who’s where around you, no.
 
AIS is just one way of making yourself more visible, along with active radar reflectors. It is now becoming widespread with yacht, almost to the point where one is surprised to see a yacht in open water without an AIS signal. If you are going to the trouble of fitting AIS, which most of us recommend anyway, there seems little reason not to fit a class B transmitter as well, unless you are strapped for cash.
 
This might not be in line with everyone's thinking but why would anyone go to expense of just buying a receiver nowadays as opposed to combined one which can transmit? As more yachts have them it's quite surprising when looking out for large ships to encounter a warship though which might be a caveat to reliance in foreign waters . I don't know if all those Fishermen etc around Sicily transmit though so maybe radar is another consideration if you don't have it and it also shows up warships and other types who turn off their AIS .
 
Plum said:
That is a very good point but one of my concerns about upgrading to a transceiver is the increase in power consumption.
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In reality, power consumption is miniscule - perhaps 3W for a transceiver versus maybe 1.5W for a receiver. Compared with a chartplotter, that's nothing.

But, and not wishing to resurrect the boring arguments on this, an AIS transceiver doesn't guarantee your boat's visibility to shipping. The best way of doing that is with an active radar reflector.
 
So, you've fitted a transceiver and all of the big ships can see you, now you can insist on standing on, safe in the knowledge they see you and will get out of the way :confused:

I'm happy with receive only, i can see the other vessels and keep out of the way.
 
PaulRainbow said:
So, you've fitted a transceiver and all of the big ships can see you, now you can insist on standing on, safe in the knowledge they see you and will get out of the way :confused:

I'm happy with receive only, i can see the other vessels and keep out of the way.
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hee hee, that would be your AIS equivalent of 1 - 2 - both. Bleedin' luddite. BTW, I thought AIS was the Hindenburgh's callsign
 
I fitted AIS receive only on our previous boat - when I fitted it, the price difference between receive only and transmit was quite high. These days, many VHF transceivers include AIS receive - including the Garmin that is fitted on our new boat. If I were installing now, I would probably go for transmit - the price difference is not very high any more. I will probably add a transmitter to the new boat before we stray far from the marina.
 
PaulRainbow said:
So, you've fitted a transceiver and all of the big ships can see you, now you can insist on standing on, safe in the knowledge they see you and will get out of the way :confused:

I'm happy with receive only, i can see the other vessels and keep out of the way.
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I have had a SeaMe for many years but never have confidence that I will always be seen in rain. I took the view that having class B wouldn't do any harm. Also, it is quite entertaining when you are just about to enter Cherbourg/Ijmuiden to get a text from a family member congratulating you on your safe arrival.:)
 
Plum said:
That is a very good point but one of my concerns about upgrading to a transceiver is the increase in power consumption.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
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Most of the time the whole lot can be switched off. It's one of a group of items that are handy when you need them but a huge percentage of the time are no use whatever, like fenders, crew and suchlike.
A laptop is a different kettle of fish but I guess you don't have one of those.
 
I don't think you should assume you have been seen by a ship unless you have verified contact via voice communication. Anyone in a leisure craft whether under motor or sail that expects a ship to alter its course because the yacht or motorboat is the stand on vessel is expecting far too much. The ship may be unable to alter its course due to draft is less well able to alter course and speed if in a busy shipping area . The leisure craft skipper being in charge of the more maneuverable vessel should always take action to avoid a collision. I don't care what the colregs say - keeping out of the way of ships is the responsibility of leisure craft skippers.
AIS transmission is seen by VTS and may be seen by ships. Even if , as speculated but not proven, the ships are not monitoring class B AIS the ship may switch to monitoring class B if an emergency situation develops.
In an emergency situation the AIS could help bring rescue services or a ship or another vessel to your position. Even if your boat has sunk the coastguard can see your boats last transmitted position. AIS is a valuable tool and not a replacement for Radar nor does it replace other methods of navigation such as keeping a lookout.
 
I had the same predicamant about a year ago, as I wanted to fit AIS and didn't know what setup to go for.

In the end, I decided that for me it was more important to see than be seen as I would take responsibility for keeping out the way of bigger vessels. I run out of Dover so plenty of much bigger ships about.

Then by coincidence my VHF packed in, so after a bit more reasearch I opted for the Standard Horizon GX2200e with built in AIS recieve. I then connected to my plotter and bingo AIS was overlayed on my charts. No need to for additional antennas or splitters and took basically 5 minutes to setup.
 
PaulRainbow said:
So, you've fitted a transceiver and all of the big ships can see you, now you can insist on standing on, safe in the knowledge they see you and will get out of the way :confused:
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That's daft, just trying to be provocative.
I'm happy with receive only, i can see the other vessels and keep out of the way.
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Each to his own, some abide to Collision Regs and some don't.
 
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