NASA AIS

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prescott56

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Hi All,
has anyone succesfully got the nasa ais pc engine (the old black one) working with shipsplotter.
I get it working with SOB but not shipsplotter or Seaclear..
Any other software out there to try?
Regards
Roy
 
I use Tikki navigator with Maptech charts - AIS works very well, up to 14 miles wit a stern mounted aerial. I never got seaclear to play with AIS (NASA MK 1). Tikki is cheap but relatively unsophisticated and simple which is why I like it!
 
http://www.y-tronic.com/ Yacht AIS

It displays the AIS targets in a radar type display i.e. with your boat at the centre. The display is very clear (not cluttered by chart info) and it has a loud alarm for potentially close encounters (CPA can be adjusted as required).
Downside - it costs about £65! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Jolly Roger62: Thank you for recommending us! I know it is not cheap, but compared to the hours that went into programming....

I am glad you like it.
 
I have it working with Seaclear.

The key with all connections of NMEA to a PC is to make sure the NMEA is OK. You can use Hyperterminal to make sure the NMEA is getting to the PC.

Are you using a serial input to the PC or a serial to USB adaptor?

All of the plotting programs I've seen, expect to get NMEA from a serial port. A USB adaptor installs itself as a "logical" port on the PC when it's plugged in. The software thinks it's looking at a real port although it's not a physical one. The problem is that every time you plug the adaptor in, it can install itself on a different port. So if you have the software set up to look at COM9 for instance, the next time yoou plug in the adaptor, it may appear on COM3 - just an example.

To spot the port, open up the System Properties from Control Panel. Click on the hardware tab & click the Device Manager. Expand USB Controllers & plug in the adaptor. It will ppear in the list & you can see which port it's installed on. Then you can set your plotter software to look at that port.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have it working with Seaclear.

The key with all connections of NMEA to a PC is to make sure the NMEA is OK. You can use Hyperterminal to make sure the NMEA is getting to the PC.

Are you using a serial input to the PC or a serial to USB adaptor?

All of the plotting programs I've seen, expect to get NMEA from a serial port. A USB adaptor installs itself as a "logical" port on the PC when it's plugged in. The software thinks it's looking at a real port although it's not a physical one. The problem is that every time you plug the adaptor in, it can install itself on a different port. So if you have the software set up to look at COM9 for instance, the next time yoou plug in the adaptor, it may appear on COM3 - just an example.

To spot the port, open up the System Properties from Control Panel. Click on the hardware tab & click the Device Manager. Expand USB Controllers & plug in the adaptor. It will ppear in the list & you can see which port it's installed on. Then you can set your plotter software to look at that port.

[/ QUOTE ]

The trick here as well is to make sure you always plug into the SAME usb port and try to keep to same sequence. I get round this by using a usb hub connected to the same usb socket on pc. So all stays connected to same port.

Seaclear also has a quirk in the passthrough / second NMEA data send / recieve channel .. so it needs care in setting it right.
But it should work fine - Nasa in fact supply Seaclear with their AIS gear because it's good and works.
 
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