iPhone AIS app.

+1 for ship finder. But it won't send out your position. Having said that, marinetraffic will only show your position on the marinetraffic system. It won't appear on other vessels AIS plotters.

So, if you want to show your position on other plotters, the only real alternative is a proper AIS transponder.

If all you want to do is see other vessels positions, then Shipfinder is fine. I did spot one problem with it though: it's predictive. It will move tagets dynamically based on last position, speed & course. If the vessel doesn't change course or speed it's fine. But, I regularly see vessels happily moving up Cosham high street. The last received AIS message showed it moving up Portsmouth Harbour. I guess eventually, the target disappears of nothing is received for a while but I haven't worked out how long that takes.
 
paulclan said:
Just came across this on marinetraffic.com site

As I have ordered an iPhone I hope to be able to use this app whilst coastal cruising.

Is anybody using it already?

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/iais.aspx
Click to expand...

I suspect you'll have to be sufficiently far inland to get a decent signal, that the AIS is essentially pointless because boats big enough to have transmitters will be much further out.

Of course, a foggy estuary might be a reasonable use for it, but it's still a bit dodgy to rely on it I should think.
 
Am I missing something :confused:?

As I read it you must have internet connection for it to work. I have an Iphone 4 and have found that internet connection in coastal waters is usually pretty bad, or non existant. Offshore it disappears completely.
 
Vamoose said:
Am I missing something :confused:?

As I read it you must have internet connection for it to work. I have an Iphone 4 and have found that internet connection in coastal waters is usually pretty bad, or non existant. Offshore it disappears completely.
Click to expand...

No, you haven't missed anything, you do need Internet to make it work and the apps only show vessels that are "seen" by shore based receivers.

These are good fun apps and I have used them all, but I wouldn't want to rely on one for collision avoidance.

Having said that, as long as you know what you are getting into, they are better than nothing.
 
This is great for allowing shorebased friends and family to track where you're up to on a coastal passage, but in case there's any confusion, note that your data will not show on ships' AIS screens, as explained in the MarineTraffic blurb:

This is not AIS
mAIS simulates the data transmitted by AIS transponders, however it only transmits data through the Internet and not through AIS radio-frequencies. It is clear that the information transmitted by mAIS is not visible by the AIS receivers of other vessels. It will be only displayed on MarineTraffic web site and apps. As such, mAIS is only a ship's self-reporting tool that does not substitute real AIS transmissions and it is not by any means related to the safety and navigation equipment of a vessel.
Click to expand...

Seems like good fun in that context though.
 
SolentBoy said:
No, you haven't missed anything, you do need Internet to make it work and the apps only show vessels that are "seen" by shore based receivers.

These are good fun apps and I have used them all, but I wouldn't want to rely on one for collision avoidance.

Having said that, as long as you know what you are getting into, they are better than nothing.
Click to expand...

In opencpn the google earth plug in will display from marinetraffic. I just had a look with an ais engine running as well. All the parked boats seemed to display perfectly but I just got run down by several virtual clipper riverbuses :eek: :)

Onboard for real you would need to ask if it was actually worse than having nothing...
 
Thank you all for the sensible inputs!

I really wanted to have our ship's position available to family, who might be wanting to join us at a port en-route.

I did sign up for http://greenalp.com/RealTimeTracker/

as I had an Android phone until it disappeared recently.

I've gone to an iPhone now so that app is not an option but may interest others here!

Good sailing and boating to all!
 
I want to follow my daughters progress she is on the Callisto in Costa Rica I have tried ais to find her, I can see loads of traffic around the Panama area but nothing further up the pacific coast to Costa, is ais only in certain areas.
 
I used this app last week up on the Clyde. I worked a treat - my wife, parents and friends were able to see where I was and where I'd been.
 
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