How best to get AIS installed ?

[Parabolica]

If you also want a second plotter then Matsutec or Onwa are excellent with AIS built in, plus they can transmit the position data on NMEA0183 to you Raymarine unit, e.g. C or E series.

I have the Matsutec HP-1228 on the fly bridge with its own stubby VHF aerial, which provides at least 5 miles AIS visibility. I was going to connect it to my RM C80, but then found the original RM mushroom AIS antenna, which simply required a new CR2032 battery.

The Matustec 12" model was ~£500 direct from China, plus a CMAP chart card an extra ~£150, and about £40 for the aerial. All AIS sets must derive their own GPS position so all should include the GPS aerial.

Simple enough to install - 2 wires for the power supply, 2 aerial cables plus finding somewhere to mount them, and a 2 core shielded 0.25mm2 cable for the NMEA 0183. You need to set the port on the RM plotter to high speed.

Thank you kindly also.

 

[Lightwave395]

I bought one each of these, took me a couple of hours to install including a simple connect to my Raymarine C90W, been faultless ever since and also the discrete antenna gives me a backup VHF/GPS if ever I needed it. As others, simple to program with a small piece of software downloaded from Comar

Comar T200B Class B AIS Transponder
Digital Yacht GV30 Combo AIS GPS Antenna - 0.19m

 

[Fire99]

AIS While theoretically very good can end up being a right pain when too many smaller boats have it on transmitting away, especially in Marinas. I have a receiver on my Plotter but now turn it off most of the time

Good point. I have a receiver on my boat and in the marina mine gets in a panic with lots of 'dangerous targets' around me. It's a bit like car alarms. If there becomes too many false positives, the worst thing happens, we switch it off or ignore it.

 

[Cariadco]

Wish I'd fitted an AIS years ago.
It's brilliant and here's a couple of things I've found out, using it:
1-In Corfu, where I sail, the Ferries, and large Shipping etc are now giving way fairly soon, which they never did before.
2-Vessel Finder or Marine Traffic are pretty rubbish in tracking. It might be just here in Corfu due to the locations of their land based transmitters. The Tracking of my boat sometime just stops, and sits there for days., but I am just using the free versions. The Tracking works perfectly on my friends Plotters, whom I asked to watch me.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Good point. I have a receiver on my boat and in the marina mine gets in a panic with lots of 'dangerous targets' around me. It's a bit like car alarms. If there becomes too many false positives, the worst thing happens, we switch it off or ignore it.

Just turn the alarms off.