Matsutec HA-102 AIS Transponder- any reason not to buy?

[Irish Rover]

I'm planning to buy and install an AIS transponder before the summer. The above unit is available in Türkiye for around £410. I want to integrate it with a Garmin GPSmap 820xs. Does anyone have any experience - positive or negative - with these or can recommend a better alternative from the UK at a comparable price.

 

[V1701]

That's a BIG mark up you can get them for half that price off, e.g. Aliexpress...

 

[Irish Rover]

That's a BIG mark up you can get them for half that price off, e.g. Aliexpress...

$425 when I looked not including import taxes and charges.

 

[fredrussell]

I paid £180 incl delivery for mine a year or two ago. Buy from AliExpress or similar. My one hasn’t missed a beat - would happily recommend it. You’ll need a PC to input your MMSI etc, can’t use a Mac.

 

[sawduster]

I think another option in that price range is the Onwa KS200A available through Aves Marine in ebay.

 

[Irish Rover]

$425 when I looked not including import taxes and charges.

Big difference when I put in a UK address $233 shipping from Italy. Thinking cap is overheating here figuring shipping to NI should be tax free from Italy.

 

[Bobc]

I'm planning to buy and install an AIS transponder before the summer. The above unit is available in Türkiye for around £410. I want to integrate it with a Garmin GPSmap 820xs. Does anyone have any experience - positive or negative - with these or can recommend a better alternative from the UK at a comparable price.

Great bit of kit. Got mine direct from Matsutec in China (my mate lives there).

 

[Stingo]

Big difference when I put in a UK address $233 shipping from Italy. Thinking cap is overheating here figuring shipping to NI should be tax free from Italy.

Less than €20 shipping to Portugal

€ 257,28 43%OFF | Lowest ! HA102 Wireless Marine AIS Receiver and Transmitter System CLASS B AIS Transponder Dual Channel Function CSTDMA Function
184.84￡ 43% OFF|Lowest ! HA102 Wireless Marine AIS Receiver and Transmitter System CLASS B AIS Transponder Dual Channel Function CSTDMA Function| | - AliExpress

 

[superheat6k]

Or simply go directly to the factory ....

Email: terry@huayang-tech.com

Web: www.huayang-tech.com

 

[Irish Rover]

Thanks for all the replies. Will I need to buy a separate GPS antenna for the Matsutec or Onwa units or will the get their position from the Garmin plotter that I'll be connecting.

 

[harvey38]

Less than €20 shipping to Portugal

€ 257,28 43%OFF | Lowest ! HA102 Wireless Marine AIS Receiver and Transmitter System CLASS B AIS Transponder Dual Channel Function CSTDMA Function
184.84￡ 43% OFF|Lowest ! HA102 Wireless Marine AIS Receiver and Transmitter System CLASS B AIS Transponder Dual Channel Function CSTDMA Function| | - AliExpress

Class B so only 2w output vs B+ @5W
May, or may not be be an issue.

 

[Bobc]

Thanks for all the replies. Will I need to buy a separate GPS antenna for the Matsutec or Onwa units or will the get their position from the Garmin plotter that I'll be connecting.

You need to buy an antenna. Cheap one from ebay works fine.

 

[Graham_Wright]

You need to buy an antenna. Cheap one from ebay works fine.

You need a separate gps antenna and preferably a separate VHF aerial. Splitters are messy.

 

[Irish Rover]

I think another option in that price range is the Onwa KS200A available through Aves Marine in ebay.

Thanks. I ordered one of these direct from Aves Marine today over the telephone. Very straightforward. The main man Alan answers the phone and is very knowledgeable and helpful. I sent him all the details on WhatsApp to preprogramme the unit for me. He confirmed it was all done and sent me a DHL tracker reference. So far so good.

 

[Fimacca]

A Bargain over what they sell in the uk. Mcmurdo is just a rebranded american camino thing anyway.

Report back if it all works when you finish !

 

[PhillM]

Have recently dealt with Alan at AVES and so far a happy customer. Not used the kit in anger but so far everything as expected. Hppy to recommend.

 

[oldgit]

You need a separate gps antenna and preferably a separate VHF aerial. Splitters are messy.

100% agree.
Had splitter fail recently.
New independant antenna for AIS system £50-£60, replacement switching unit closer to £300 for splitter.

 

[Irish Rover]

You need a separate gps antenna and preferably a separate VHF aerial. Splitters are messy.

I'm going to fit separate antennas but, just out of curiosity, will the AIS not be able to get position data from the connected plotter?

 

[snowbird30ds]

I think part of the ais standard specifies transponders should have their own gps source, I'm sure my matsutec came with a gps patch antenna that I have in my headlining by the helm.
My HA-102 has been fine for the last two years, think I paid £180 from aliexpress.

 

[KAM]

Mine came with GPS ariel too. Similar price from Aliexpress. Been very happy with it.