Anyone Using AIS With OpenCPN?

Dougal

Dougal

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If so, please can you supply, or at least point me towards, a 'For Dummies' guide on how it's done lol. I've just spent (read wasted) another several hours, and not for the first time lol, trawling the Internet trying to work this out. Even on the official OCPN forum, the thread on this subject is over 10 years old, which I seriously doubt has upto date info:) Like many such places, as does the online manual, it also assume's one is bl00dy rocket scientist to begin with;) Try to bear with me when it comes to learning new tech stuff. Apart from age lol, I also have a cognitive medical condition that makes any new learning difficult:( Can sometimes make for interesting chart work too;)
 
I use AIS with OpenCPN. I feed it in from a SH radio via USB. It didn't take much to set it up.

What difficulties are you having? Are you getting nothing at all? Do you see AIVDM sentences when you look at the NMEA debug window?

What's your source of data? How do you feed it in? What are you runningOpenCPN on?
 
Obviously the first stage is to define your hardware. Laptop/tablet/phone for OpenCPN? Wifi/USB for AIS?

You need to get your AIS data onto your hardware using wifi or cable, configure OpenCPN so that it can see the incoming data and then select the options so that OpenCPN will display the incoming data.

Which of these stages have you achieved and where is the problem?

Richard
 
I'm at an excellent starting point;) I have zero AIS data because I'm still very confused as to what I need to supply it.
And I'm afraid asking me about stuff like "AIVDM sentences" etc, is exactly what I mean about assuming prior knowledge or being a rocket scientist lol

I use opencpn on no less than three devices, depending where I am on the boat:) Primary device is my ancient laptop that runs Linux (and windowsXP), based in the wheelhouse (motorsailor). Also on a tablet in the cockpit, and my phone as a last backup;).

So let's assume my laptop is where I want to receive AIS data. Let's just stick with receiving for now lol. Laptop uses USB GPS receiver.

One chap told me all I need is A TV dongle to receive the data, but I've also read conflicting info stating I need a specific device.
And please, for anyone about to post something like "Google is your friend", don't bother;)

Richard, does the above supply enough info? I haven't yet purchased any means of supplying AIS data.
 
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I am using a NASA AIS engine to get the AIS into my Windows 7 PC.

From the output port of the ais i have a RS232 to USB cable into my PC. The PC port is set to 38000 bits per sec.

I use NavMon PC to test the incoming data but you can use OpenCPN if you wish.

NavonPC has a easy test setup and a "radar" type display which is not as good as overlay onto the OCPN chart.

IMHO using NavManPC makes it easy to get the basic comms working then you can concentrate on getting OPCN to display.


SH is Standard Horizon who make VHF radios that can receive the AIS transmission as well as making marine VHF calls.
 
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Dougal said:
no. sorry I tthought I made that clear
Click to expand...

Not really, >> dummies guide to AIS on opencpn - buy something which can receive AIS, plug the antenna socket into an antenna and the USB into your laptop. Or might need a USB/Serial adapter.
Set up opencpn so it can see the data.

That's it pretty much. :cool:

Or was the question about which receiver to buy?
 
Rogershaw said:
I am using a NASA AIS engine to get the AIS into my Windows 7 PC.

From the output port of the ais i have a RS232 to USB cable into my PC. The PC port is set to 38000 bits per sec.

I use NavMon PC to test the incoming data but you can use OpenCPN if you wish.

NavonPC has a easy test setup and a "radar" type display which is not as good as overlay onto the OCPN chart.

IMHO using NavManPC makes it easy to get the basic comms working then you can concentrate on getting OPCN to display.


SH is Standard Horizon who make VHF radios that can receive the AIS transmission as well as making marine VHF calls.
Click to expand...

many thanks Roger. Simple and precise;)
 
Yep have a Quark AO26 - additions required or at least what I needed. GPS aerial and also an aerial to receive the VHF/AIS signal. I used a Metz antenna mounted on the push pit. Available from Salty John.

I use the Wifi pushed out from the Quark to connect to the Laptop Open CPN program, just set the IP address which is shown in the Quark instructions. This also allows the data to be shared on your Tablet and Phone. Oh yes the Quarks are usually 5v powered and need an adapter.

I actually got mine in a kit from Hamble Marine who have a shop on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Receiver-Q...&qid=1537715450&sr=8-17&keywords=ais+receiver
 
ballyabroad said:
Yep have a Quark AO26 - additions required or at least what I needed. GPS aerial and also an aerial to receive the VHF/AIS signal. I used a Metz antenna mounted on the push pit. Available from Salty John.
Click to expand...

Good to know they work. I think I will invest in the QK-A022 Dual Channel AIS Receiver. This is to be a backup to my main AIS transponder in case it fails! I have a hard wired PC so do not need the wireless capability. This Quark is powered by the USB. I already have GPS linked to the PC, so hopefully just need an antenna. I might start by using the emergency antenna that I have to see how it works.

I will feed back

TS
 
I've got the Quark A026 too. Works fine. My only issue was I tried to use a splitter. That failed,I got my money back and installed a 2nd antenna. Perfect. Used it with Open CPN on my tablet before getting Marine Navigator app and VMH charts.
 
Dougal said:
If so, please can you supply, or at least point me towards, a 'For Dummies' guide on how it's done lol. I've just spent (read wasted) another several hours, and not for the first time lol, trawling the Internet trying to work this out. Even on the official OCPN forum, the thread on this subject is over 10 years old, which I seriously doubt has upto date info:) Like many such places, as does the online manual, it also assume's one is bl00dy rocket scientist to begin with;) Try to bear with me when it comes to learning new tech stuff. Apart from age lol, I also have a cognitive medical condition that makes any new learning difficult:( Can sometimes make for interesting chart work too;)
Click to expand...

My advice, if can afford it, is to buy an AIS receiver/transceiver which has integrated wifi. You can then transmit the AIS data wirelessly and pick it up on any/all your devices running OpenCPN, provided those devices can receive wifi, without worrying about cables and baud rates and all that stuff.

It also means that you can run OpenCPN on one device (such as a PC/laptop) and a different AIS display software (plenty of free alternatives on Android/Apple) on another device as sometimes a radar-type display is preferable to a chart display and sometimes the opposite.

Richard
 
You say you are running Windows XP on an ancient laptop that runs Linux. I'm not sure at what version OpenCPN started supporting AIS but Note (dated 2018/08/17): Win XP Service Pack 2 or 1 are not supported. The last OpenCPN version that included support was 2.6.1624. Win XP SP 3 will be dropped in the next release. See: https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/d...:getting_started:opencpn_installation:windows If you want to use it on a Tablet / Phone you have to use the 'paid for' version of OpenCPN. The Free version doesn't support AIS plus you have to buy either a more expensive AIS engine (box) that has a WiFi output or additional hardware to get WiFi output from a non WiFi AIS engine, so if I were you, I would stick with the Laptop route and upgrade your laptop. You could look for a 2nd hand one that is running Windows 7, buying a new laptop with Windows 10 would give you a whole new set of headaches!
 
tudorsailor said:
Good to know they work. I think I will invest in the QK-A022 Dual Channel AIS Receiver. This is to be a backup to my main AIS transponder in case it fails! I have a hard wired PC so do not need the wireless capability. This Quark is powered by the USB. I already have GPS linked to the PC, so hopefully just need an antenna. I might start by using the emergency antenna that I have to see how it works.

I will feed back

TS
Click to expand...

If you already have an AIS transponder why can't you just use that? It'll give out NMEA0183 AIS messages (38.4Kb) I presume so you just need some way of feeding them into the PC.

The aerial you already have mounted for the transponder is going to be better positioned (I hope) than the Quark receiver.

I use the masthead VHF aerial (Standard Horizon Gx2100) which can give me up to 25 to 30 miles, which is more than is really needed yet it can be handy sometimes to have the advance warning of traffic.

In terms of getting the data to the Windows tablet I use a ShipModul Miniplex (bought more for integrating Stowe & NMEA rather than anything else). I use the same cable to power both the tablet & the USB port on the ShipModul but that's another story.

There are other ways of getting NMEA data to USB. They and the Shipmodul have the advantage that you can feed any sort of data to OpenCPN.
 
Dougal said:
I'm at an excellent starting point;) I have zero AIS data because I'm still very confused as to what I need to supply it.

One chap told me all I need is A TV dongle to receive the data, but I've also read conflicting info stating I need a specific device.
And please, for anyone about to post something like "Google is your friend", don't bother;)
Click to expand...

There's two ways to get AIS in OpenCPN.

One is to get an AIS receiver and feed the NMEA output into OpenCPN via serial or TCP/UDP feeds, just like the GPS you already have hooked up does it. This is fairly straightforward and just about any AIS receiver or transponder will work, which come in many shapes and sizes. NASA makes a fairly affordable AIS Engine (receive only) and any AIS transponder will also output this data as NMEA feed, which can simply be connected via a USB serial converter (some even have direct USB outputs). Any of these work well (see below screenshot).

The other one is the "TV dongle" method, which uses a cheap (£10) USB DVB-T receiver (rtlsdr), tricks it into tuning into AIS channels and then uses software to decode the received mess of signals into AIS data. This is then fed into OpenCPN from the AIS plugin, just like what you would get out of one of the above mentioned AIS receivers. Frankly, you should forget about this method: It is not for you. It's for nerds who like to play with computer stuff. And even then it was fiddly and not particularly reliable. I wouldn't use it on a boat, but it's fun stuff to play with on cold dark winter nights if you live near a marina and like learning new stuff.

busyais.png
 
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