NASA AIS Engine Software

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VicMallows

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Can anyone comment on the software supplied with the NASA AIS engine please?

I appreciate that it will not be anything like sophisticated chart-plotting software, but what exactly DOES it do, and what is the PC display like? The NASA website and all advertising I have seen seems to be silent when it comes to the software. I also get the impression from various forums that different software has been supplied at various times in the past?

My interest is in using the AIS engine with a laptop and GPS. I don't currently have a chartplotter or any specific PC plotting software.

Many Thanks,

Vic
 
At one time they "suppied" Seaclear. Don't know if it is still the same one. The quotes are becuase Seaclear is free anyway. I was using it before I knew about NASA AIS and find it a very useful tool. The AIS works well with it.

The user interface departs slightly from standard MS Windows conventions but once you've learned where everything is its great.

You scan in your own charts and calibrate them. This is a somewhat tiresome job that will fill a few winter evenings. Access to an A3 (or bigger) scanner speeds things up.

<edit>To answer the question "what does it do": its PC chart-plotting software</edit>
 
FYI This is a typical* Seaclear screen with NASA AIS showing. Apologies for wide screen, but need to show full detail.

harwichHaven(1).JPG


*well, not quite typical becuase no "own boat" icon showing - we were a few hundred meters north at the time, and tied up.
 
Just to fill in some detail:

The red line out of the ship is the heading. It is of conventional length.

The "hockey stick" on the red line is the turn indicator. One tends to be glued to this on channel crossings. You see it blip on briefly when the ship is about 3 or 4M away as they move to avoid you.

The dotted line is the projected track based on ship's current course and speed. The length is settable in the software and I think was set to 10min at the time the screen shot was taken.

At this large scale some ships show their outline. It is not shown at smaller scales

The two vessels apparently mating are a container ship and a tug

The "own boat" icon also displays projected track.

By clicking on any vessel you get a data box listing, among other things CPA and TCPA - both very useful in busy traffic situations. Not showing on the screen shot.

What I really like is knowing the name and callsign of vessels in case I feel I need to call them.
 
Vic,
let me know how you get on with this AIS, Alice and I were looking at it to see what we could interface with it. Used to have Seaclear, but never got time to scan charts, so took it off.

Are you down? We're on A still, as Rally called off by Commodore- looks like only our two boats were up for it anyway."Duty of Care" n all that. Hope to get out Sunday if only to Itchenor.

APB's, John n Jackie, Tony B boats all still ashore, Terry & Vicki still rigging- we put their boom on on D pontoon yesterday- fun job??? /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif. Alice nearly blown off their coachroof! Then got our yankee on in sunshine and the lull:)
We were lucky with weather here, R. Hamble had Mayday for someone blown overboard.

Hope it means the summer will be good, the opposite of Easter /summer last year.
TTFN
Dick
 
Thanks Schmoo,

I hadn't realised that the free SeaClear is as powerful as it is. (OK, should have done the Google research first). Have downloaded and been playing and most impressed. Having a bit of trouble linking to own charts I have scanned in, but sure I will sort it out after reading the manual properly.

Vic
 
Smoo,
What Aerial setup do you have on your AIS rig.
Did it compromise your current vhf traffic working if masthead/splitter?
Is your rig just the NASA passive A receiver or A/B enabled for upgrade.

Vic, Sorreee, /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif got your PM OK and replied re Midweek/Easter Rallies. I always did waffle on /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
Dick
 
Antenna is ordinary one (in the sense that I went into Foxes and said "I want the cheapest VHF antenna you have, please") . Its a whip with a little loading coil in a plastic cotton reel thingy at the bottom - about 40GBP as I recall.

Its on the pushpit rail. Quite separate from the main VHF, although I have put a PL259 plug on the end so I can plug it in to the main VHF in emergency (a radio check confirmed that I get reasonable range to the coasties). I then have a barrel connector and a short PL259-BNC into the NASA engine. Not sure what you mean by A and A/B. Its just the engine, without any display.

Ships appear between 15M and 10M away, which is far enough for our purposes.

By the way. I take the GPS direct into the pooter, not using NASA's multiplexing facility. I would not like to lose GPS becuase the AIS failed. Pooter only has USB so inputs are through serial-USB bridges of generic no-make.
 
Although not strictly an answer to your question re software, I wanted to know how I link the AIS engine to my VHF and GPS chartplotter.

I wrote to HERE and received this VERY informative response this morning ... 08.30 on a Sunday!!

<span style="color:blue"> Hi ... for the splitter we use the EASY SPLIT's from Weather
Dock in Germany... £99.00 plus post. These units actively filter
out the received VHF & AIS signals routing them to their
respective receivers whilst protecting your AIS receiver when the
VHF is transmitting. You'll need to feed the splitter with 12 VDC
to power it up. Then plug your existing VHF aerial into the
splitter. To get from the splitter out to the VHF & AIS you'll a
couple of leads made up with PL259 plugs on each end for the
VHF, & the AIS uses BNC's each end. We can make these up for
you or supply the cable and connectors for you to do. Please
contact us for prices. Regarding the AIS to the Plotter you'll have
to join the AIS data output lead... two cores sending the NMEA
data, to what ever connector or lead on the plotter that receives
NMEA data at 38K4 Baud rate which is the speed the data is sent
out from the AIS. So the question is what plotter make and
model do you have and we'd most likely be able to give you the
connection information. Hope thats ok for now, but feel free to
get back to us again anytime. Regards, Peter -
www.prscomms.co.uk - tel 01255 240523
</span>

Hope that is of interest to someone /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Shmoo,
Thanks for that, your aerial setup similar to what I was thinking of doing.
We'll have a chance to see Vic's set up in a fortnight, so can see what might suit us with existing kit on boat.
We have an emergency vhf aerial, so might test with that and look for a mobo ratchet fold flat rail mount to suit.

Theres a fitted s/s 1.5m post for tv aerial that might be recycled too.
10-15 mile pickup from rail mount sounds good too.
 
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