Combined AIS & Chartplotter

I had a look at it at the boat show and didn't like it aesthetically - felt cheap and plasticky. Sure it works ok though.

Pete
 
Is it such an issue to use two separate boxes; the engine and display? They work out quite cheap as the NASA AIS engine box is around £130. Plug an aerial in to it (or stick a rubber-duck aerial on it) and plug it into the display; in my case the Standard Horizon CP300 for around £520. So all in it's around £650.

I know it's not fully integrated into one unit, but TBH, it really doesn't matter.

With the rubber-duck aerial plugged in, it seems to work to around 10 miles radius, fine for crossing shipping lanes.
 
Thinking about it some more, the real question is why don't the VHF radios have built-in AIS decoders? After all they're the ones connected to the mast-head aerial.

If you want to share the aerial with a dedicated AIS engine, or chart-plotter a-la Digital Yacht, then you need to install a splitter that's tuned to the VHF channels we use. If a VHF radio had it built in, it would also have a built in splitter.
 
GlennG said:
Thinking about it some more, the real question is why don't the VHF radios have built-in AIS decoders? After all they're the ones connected to the mast-head aerial.

If you want to share the aerial with a dedicated AIS engine, or chart-plotter a-la Digital Yacht, then you need to install a splitter that's tuned to the VHF channels we use. If a VHF radio had it built in, it would also have a built in splitter.
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hmm, I've always treated the ais aerial as a backup emergency aerial so splitter is not for me , in my current boat I interfaced a Garmin 451 and AIS engine , but when looking to add a modern chart plotter and AIS to the "new but is in fact older" boat wondered if technology had moved on BTW £650 is a significant amount of dosh to me!!
 
jimi said:
Looks good! Does anyone have any experience of this?
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I'm thinking about this as well.

It seems if you buy a plotter plus chart chip "bundle" and an AIS engine separately (£449+£129) it works out considerably (c£160) cheaper than buying the combined Digital Yacht plotter/AIS and the chart chip separately(£540+£198).
 
There is a 5" combined plotter and AIS on sale in the USA that takes C-Map cartridges so they do exist. I can't remember if I saw it on West Marines site or Defender's so worth a look. It looked like the 5" Navman we used to have in style
 
Supine Being said:
Digital Yacht do one: http://www.cactusnav.com/digital-yacht-sc500-combo-chart-plotter-sounder-p-11143.html
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Thats seems to be the sounder version, here is the link to the AIS combo:
http://www.cactusnav.com/digital-yacht-sc500-chart-plotter-with-built-p-11142.html?cPath=32

GlennG said:
Thinking about it some more, the real question is why don't the VHF radios have built-in AIS decoders? After all they're the ones connected to the mast-head aerial.
Click to expand...

The following combined VHF DSC and AIS sets exist for sale in UK:
Standard Horizon 2100e
Navicom RT650/Radio Ocean RO4800 (same but different case)
Garmin VHF 300i
MTech MT550 (has recently been announced)

Icom announced IC-MA505 and IC-MA603 but they do not seem to be on sale or listed on ther UK site?
 
prv said:
Other option is to integrate the AIS engine into the aerial.

Pete
Click to expand...
This is what I'm planning to install. Seems an excellent solution (for me) as my Garmin GPS antenna can output it's 4800 baud signal directly to this device and both the AIS & GPS signals (different baud rates) will be fed as one combined signal to my Raymarine C70 Plotter. I'm not too technically savvy, but I'm assurred by MES it's the simplest solution and a doddle to get it all working.

Only downside is you do lose a few miles of range over a normal antenna, but even at my age, my reactions are still quick enough to cope with assimilitating and acting on info about ships 10 miles away, that's plenty good enough range for me thank you very much!

What boat have you bought now Jimi? I knew GR was for sale but that's all I know!

Cheers, Brian.
 
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Personally, i wouldn't restrict my choice of plotters just to have built in AIS.

I wouldn't buy a NASA AIS, they are not proper dual channel, they just switch from one the the other.

I wouldn't use a splitter, i'd fit a 2nd VHF antenna that would act as a backup for the VHF.

Or, Standard Horizon make a nice VHF set with built in AIS.

The plotter would need to say Garmin on the front.
 
Twister_Ken said:
Swot I've got to a Garmin 555. Damn fine solution.
Click to expand...

It's what I have too. Bought for the Cherbourg run last year, I didn't have time to install it but simply put a rolling hitch round the antenna and hoisted it up the signal halyard with the wire running along the deck. Over the winter I've mounted it on the centreboard winch box between the cabin top and the mast (my boat is the bilge plate version, but they fitted the box anyway). Hopefully range will be OK from there.

Pete
 
AIS aerial

I have seen quite a few comments about using splitters for AIS reception.
I have a Glomax RA111AIS aerial fitted on our pushpit rail. It is a short stubby aerial ansd seems to cost about £70. This feeds to a NASA AIS engine which in turn is fed in to a North Star M84 chart plotter.

Mid Channel I can receive ships AIS signals clearly at 15 miles away displayed on the chart plotter.

Having the AIS overlay is useful when navigating in and out of the Solent as we can see where ships are comming from and where they are going. Its just the clutter from the Sunsail fleet that caused problems last year. Have they found the off switch yet, or do they need them to keep check where their boats are?
 
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