ICOM M-323 VHF - AIS Link

[Mistroma]

I was considering an Icom M-323 instead of a cheaper model and noted that it supports AIS target calls. However, the advertising blurb specifically mentions an Icom AIS unit.

AIS Target Call
When connected to an optional MA-500TR Class B AIS transponder, the AIS target call function allows you to set up an individual DSC call from the MA-500TR without having to manually input an MMSI number.

I emailed Icom to ask "Does it have to be an MA-500TR? i.e You are using a proprietary system. OR Can I use my existing Raymarine C Series plotter & AIS receiver?".

The reply stated that they used proprietary software (not exactly a surprise) to enable this function with the MA-500TR, the only AIS kit they sell. But it didn't mention the protocol or if it would work with other manufacturers kit. I've asked the question again in relation to the protocol and connectivity with other kit. I believe that there are perfectly good NMEA sentences covering this functionality and had hoped that's what they'd used.

Has anyone connected an Icom M-323 to Rymarine C Series plotter and an AIS receiver. I've had an AdvanSea RX-100 for ages now and it works very well with both Raymarine plotter and OpenCPN on laptop.

 

[Cardo]

This is something that's amazed me for a while now. Being able to DSC call a boat by tapping on their icon on the plotter seems to be a fairly basic feature to me, but it's not something many companies seem to support.

 

[Mistroma]

Yes, you'd think so. It doesn't too complicated to transfer the request from a plotter to a VHF to set up a DSC call. I'm pretty certain that my existing Raymarine plotter does send out a NMEA sentence containing all the data required. However, the VHF needs to be able to interpret the data and that requires a small amount of software as well as hardware to receive the data.

The M-323 obviously has the hardware to receive the data via NMEA. However, it sounds as if Icom didn't use standard sentences in output from their AIS transponder. This would mean that their AIS could only provide "AIS target calls" via Icom kit (and vice versa). It sounds incredibly short-sighted and silly (so is probably the case).

I've just had a reply from Icom wrt my second query and it sounds fairly final.

They will talk to other equipment via NMEA0183, the only proprietary feature is the set-up of a DSC call negating the need for manually inputting the MMSI number into the VHF, that can only be done from an MA500TR.

I still can't quite believe that they'd deliberately send the request in a non-standard NMEA sentence (but then others have done this before). Perhaps the standard is a bit lax in this area?

 

[Cardo]

Yes, you'd think so. It doesn't too complicated to transfer the request from a plotter to a VHF to set up a DSC call. I'm pretty certain that my existing Raymarine plotter does send out a NMEA sentence containing all the data required. However, the VHF needs to be able to interpret the data and that requires a small amount of software as well as hardware to receive the data.

The M-323 obviously has the hardware to receive the data via NMEA. However, it sounds as if Icom didn't use standard sentences in output from their AIS transponder. This would mean that their AIS could only provide "AIS target calls" via Icom kit (and vice versa). It sounds incredibly short-sighted and silly (so is probably the case).

I've just had a reply from Icom wrt my second query and it sounds fairly final.

They will talk to other equipment via NMEA0183, the only proprietary feature is the set-up of a DSC call negating the need for manually inputting the MMSI number into the VHF, that can only be done from an MA500TR.

I still can't quite believe that they'd deliberately send the request in a non-standard NMEA sentence (but then others have done this before). Perhaps the standard is a bit lax in this area?

To be fair to Icom, my Raymarine plotter doesn't support any nmea sentences relating to initiating DSC calls, either. It only supports the DSC info and DSE sentences.
Just seems to be one of those things where they've all decided not to bother.

 

[Danbury]

I have a Vesper AIS which works perfectly well with my Icom M423... I can initiate a DSC call from the Vesper unit simply by hitting "call"

The manual for the M423 also bangs on about the MA-500TR but I just deciphered the correct wiring between the two units from the manuals.

 

[Mistroma]

I have a Vesper AIS which works perfectly well with my Icom M423... I can initiate a DSC call from the Vesper unit simply by hitting "call"

The manual for the M423 also bangs on about the MA-500TR but I just deciphered the correct wiring between the two units from the manuals.

A glimmer of hope then. I suspected that the Icom "technical help" wasn't so technical and that it might use a standard NMEA sentence. The last email from Icom said:

Yes that is right, as I understand it (and I am not in the R&D dept) there were no standard sentences we could use or that were not already assigned to other tasks that NMEA would output from a plotter to initiate a direct call on the radio without rewriting the software on 3rd party plotters, something beyond our control, so a proprietary sentence was written into the MA500TR to achieve this when connected to one of our compatible VHF's

I'm pretty certain that there are standard NMEA sentences available for exactly this feature. The fact that your Vesper unit works tends to support this supposition. My Raymarine plotter says that it supports this function via NMEA, so I might still buy the Icom and try to get that feature working.

Of course there's always a chance that Raymarine applied their own "extensions" to the format.

 

[Cardo]

My Raymarine plotter says that it supports this function via NMEA, so I might still buy the Icom and try to get that feature working.

Of course there's always a chance that Raymarine applied their own "extensions" to the format.

Which plotter is this, and what sentences are you referring to? The manual for my e7 doesn't mention anything that looks appropriate. But then, I might just be blind.

 

[Mistroma]

Which plotter is this, and what sentences are you referring to? The manual for my e7 doesn't mention anything that looks appropriate. But then, I might just be blind.

Thanks for that Cardo, I have a C series Widescreen C90W and was looking at some old notes I'd made. The notes indicated that I'd need to buy the next radio up to get extra AIS/DSC related features. I wasn't buying AIS at the time and thought prices would drop so decided it wasn't worthwhile. It was a few years ago and I think that I looked at a VHF manual and AIS manual before noting the functionality they provided with the plotter.

I've had a trawl through the plotter manual and you are correct about it not mentioning AIS target calling. I've looked at my notes again and wonder if I might not have interpreted them correctly. However, I can't think what else I was referring to as the existing VHF supports features such as sending Distress data to plotter & plotter manual says it will display these correctly.

Oh well, back to the drawing board. I'll have another look at some Raymarine VHF and AIS manuals as that's where I remember, possibly incorrectly, seeing the reference to AIS target calls via the plotter.

You might have saved me some money as I might get a cheaper VHF if the plotter doesn't support the AIS target call feature. Must remember not to believe notes & scribblings and RTFM.

 

[Cardo]

Found this on the Raymarine forum from July last year...
"Unfortunately, Raymarine MFDs do not presently support the feature which you have inquired about. While Raymarine MFDs can plot AIS Targets and DSC position reports, they do not presently have the abilty to select an AIS target and then sent information to a VHF radio to direct communications to the selected vessel. As such,the MMSI of the AIS target must be manually entered into the VHF radio. A feature request has been submitted to consider this feature for inclusion within future MFD software updates and future MFD designs."

http://raymarine.ning.com/forum/top...-my-raymarine-chartplotter?xg_source=activity