'Converting' my AIS receiver to transponder?

[pcatterall]

It took me ages to link my Nasa AIS 3 receiver to my little Garmin Track plotter about 4 years ago!. It would now be great to be able to transmit an AIS signal though.
can I just fit an extra unit (aerial an issue?) or should I just opt for renewing the whole system. I have seen a package 'transceiver and 7" track plotter' ONWA KP39A using Navionics on eBay (£499). Perhaps I should just scrap the old set up and invest in that?

 

[Rappey]

You can only transmit ais by having a transmitter. You only have a receiver.
The onwa comes with your choice of chart and can download charts for most of the globe for free. Will also take c-map and navionics.
The kp39a is great value for money . It apparently strugglrs a little with very large charts wheteas The kp708 is better as has a brighter screen and is more powerful so screen draw is much quicker

 

[Rappey]

I would suggest buying from aves marine as same prices as ebay but official UK dealer and you can discuss your requirements.

 

[Kinsale373]

I recently added an Onwa 200 A transponder to my boat. It's wired to my Old Garmin 500 plotter at the wheel. I also purchased a Wi Fi sender and mounted this at the Nav Station so that I could use a Marine Navigator with AIS on a Samsung. Its all working fine and I'm happy with it. There was a lot of wiring though , it took me about 2 days to pull all the wires and make the connections. Onwa recommended a seperate VHF antenna rather than Splitter and there is a seperate Sat Nav Antenna. All the kit cost about £500 .

So I think that if I was doing it again I'd go for the new Onwa Chart Plotter with AIS built in to reduce wiring. I'd look at having the Wi Fi sender built in if you want to use a Pad as a Backup I think you can get this now. I also think that the GPS Antenna is built into the newer units. I'm not sure about VHF antenna . I've mounted my VHF antenna on the back Rail and it seems to be working fine though I can't verify the range yet.

So I'd go for the solution that minimises wiring.

I found the UK dealer for Onwa very helpful even though he didn't have the particular kit in stock and I had to buy directly from Hong Kong.

Kinsale 373

 

[prv]

You could just replace the NASA unit with a transmitter; the connection to the Garmin will be the same. Although the transmitter will cost £350 - £400 itself, so it might be worth replacing the whole lot if you think the Onwa is a useful upgrade on the Garmin (I’ve never used the Onwa so no advice to give on that).

For either option you’ll need to add the cost of either an antenna and wiring, or a splitter.

Pete

 

[Ningaloo]

I'm also a happy customer of Awes having bought my AIS transponder from them. I already had an AIS receiver built into my VHF and a VHF splitter so this was the lowest cost option for me. The transponder has its own GPS (with aerial) so needs no further integration.

 

[pcatterall]

I recently added an Onwa 200 A transponder to my boat. It's wired to my Old Garmin 500 plotter at the wheel. I also purchased a Wi Fi sender and mounted this at the Nav Station so that I could use a Marine Navigator with AIS on a Samsung. Its all working fine and I'm happy with it. There was a lot of wiring though , it took me about 2 days to pull all the wires and make the connections. Onwa recommended a seperate VHF antenna rather than Splitter and there is a seperate Sat Nav Antenna. All the kit cost about £500 .

So I think that if I was doing it again I'd go for the new Onwa Chart Plotter with AIS built in to reduce wiring. I'd look at having the Wi Fi sender built in if you want to use a Pad as a Backup I think you can get this now. I also think that the GPS Antenna is built into the newer units. I'm not sure about VHF antenna . I've mounted my VHF antenna on the back Rail and it seems to be working fine though I can't verify the range yet.

So I'd go for the solution that minimises wiring.

I found the UK dealer for Onwa very helpful even though he didn't have the particular kit in stock and I had to buy directly from Hong Kong.

Kinsale 373

Thanks everybody. As we will need to spend a fair amount on even just a transponder unit paying a very little extra for the Onwa package seems the way to go. I think the eBay package is offered be Awes.

 

[Rappey]

Aves said that although my unit has built in gps an external gps ariel is far better.
I bought a shakespeare ais tuned antenna for £50 online and clamped it to backstay as high as I could reach. See ships in english channel up to 50 miles.
No other kit needed.
The included k3 charts basemap is an admiralty chart. That alone is worth a fair amount.

 

[alanvick]

I recently added an Onwa 200 A transponder to my boat. It's wired to my Old Garmin 500 plotter at the wheel. I also purchased a Wi Fi sender and mounted this at the Nav Station so that I could use a Marine Navigator with AIS on a Samsung. Its all working fine and I'm happy with it. There was a lot of wiring though , it took me about 2 days to pull all the wires and make the connections. Onwa recommended a seperate VHF antenna rather than Splitter and there is a seperate Sat Nav Antenna. All the kit cost about £500 .

So I think that if I was doing it again I'd go for the new Onwa Chart Plotter with AIS built in to reduce wiring. I'd look at having the Wi Fi sender built in if you want to use a Pad as a Backup I think you can get this now. I also think that the GPS Antenna is built into the newer units. I'm not sure about VHF antenna . I've mounted my VHF antenna on the back Rail and it seems to be working fine though I can't verify the range yet.

So I'd go for the solution that minimises wiring.

I found the UK dealer for Onwa very helpful even though he didn't have the particular kit in stock and I had to buy directly from Hong Kong.

Kinsale 373

We didn't hold KS200A in stock at the time as model was waiting on completion of EU certification which is now completed. Have fully compliant version in stock now.