Real time AIS for my I Pad

xhurleyman

xhurleyman

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Hello all, have any of you found a really good APP for an I Pad which gives real time AIS info updated regularly which I could use without spending hundreds for stand alone units combined with the GPS Chartplotter? Thanks
 
xhurleyman said:
Hello all, have any of you found a really good APP for an I Pad which gives real time AIS info updated regularly which I could use without spending hundreds for stand alone units combined with the GPS Chartplotter? Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm afraid that there's no comparison between a proper AIS receiver and the app versions. I have an AIS transmitter on my boat and I regularly check to see if my boat is showing up on my app and I would guess that 50% of the time I'm a no show so, even if the app did CPA and TCPA calculations which is the prime function of AIS, it would be useless.

If you want an app the Marine Traffic one seems to work well but I wouldn't trust it for collision avoidance.

Richard
 
IPads do not have an inbuilt AIS receiver or transmitter. AIS apps use the internet or a SIM card to access AIS data from a server, so if you are out of range of Wi-Fi or a cell-phone system, or in a weak signal area you'll perhaps see no data, and updates will sometimes be slow and incomplete.
There's no substitute for a full, standalone AIS transponder or receiver. That's why they cost more.
 
Only way to receive real time AIS on a tablet is via an AIS receiver. This can be done easily with an Android tablet using OpenCPN, for instance. I'm not sure what navigation apps are out there for the iPad though, that support AIS.
 
I have a Vesper AIS receiver and I also have the app Boat Beacon on my I pad. One day on my boat I checked the signals on my AIS against the IPad and was surprised to see that Boat Beacon was giving the same readings. I have no way of knowing if the projected courses would end up the same though. Given that Boat Beacon is a few pounds and does rely on a phone signal to work it is supprisingly effective but of course is no substitute for the real thing. It does a few things that that my proper AIS cannot do I.e. It can show a picture of the boat/target. It is much more than a toy but will it show every target that my Vesper shows?, I do not know. Providing you appreciate it's limits it is worth a few pounds. I see that you can buy it in a bundle including UK charts from the App Store. You will need a tablet that uses a phone card. It will work off a wifi signal but that is not much use on your boat. I do not know if it is available for tablets other than the Iped.
 
One app you might consider is 'Boat Beacon'
As comented earlier this is NOT real AIS being reliant on boats AIS transmissions being picked up by shore side receivers but it adds your position as well , sent over the same shore based system.
Useful but not a substitute for rear AIS.
It's obvious but perhaps worth mentioning that you are not safe with real AIS anyway since many boats do not have it , I for one have a receiver but no transmitter.
You must still keep a lookout and sound your signal etc. as you would anyway.
 
RichardS said:
If you want an app the Marine Traffic one seems to work well but I wouldn't trust it for collision avoidance. Richard
Click to expand...

Neither would I. Few weeks ago I was on Marine Traffic looking at the Solent when I clicked on a target to see the old Puffer the Vital Spark doing 42 Kts going past Osbourne Bay :) I kid you not.
 
I have just had to "re-purchase" Marinetraffic as the original app stopped working. Good for interest but not to be relied on.
Looking forward to fitting my Vesper XB8000 transceiver which will beam AIS to my IPad via wifi.
 
xhurleyman said:
Hello all, have any of you found a really good APP for an I Pad which gives real time AIS info updated regularly which I could use without spending hundreds for stand alone units combined with the GPS Chartplotter? Thanks
Click to expand...
There are lots of apps and websites that show you AIS data, but that is all they do. An onboard unit takes the data combines it with your GPS data and does some sums to determine if you might come close to each other.
 
Oh well, perhaps I will have to wait till I can afford an AIS unit plus new plotter as my current one has a fairly small screen. First things first, there are some major pressing repairs to be done! Thanks everyone for your quick responses. This forum I have always found is an excellent place as we all have skills which can be imparted when we are confident of our answers.
 
Cheapest way to get AIS on your iPad I can think of is:

1) Get a cheap AIS receiver with NMEA '83 output + antenna splitter from eBay. Loads of folk are selling these because they're upgrading to transceivers, so you ought to find a cheap one with a bit of patience

2) Hook it up to a low-cost 12V Wifi box, i.e. the Alfa R36, install OpenWRT and kplex (bit of hacking required) and plug a £5 USB-serial converter into it that is connected to the NMEA '83 output of the AIS receiver. Now you have a boat Wifi network with AIS data on it.

3) Install an AIS software that connects to kplex over Wifi on your iPad. There are a bunch of these in the app store, usually in the guise of apps for black boxes that do 1+2 for the price of a small car.

Some wiring and computer skills required!
 
Yngmar said:
2) Hook it up to a low-cost 12V Wifi box, i.e. the Alfa R36, install OpenWRT and kplex (bit of hacking required) and plug a £5 USB-serial converter into it that is connected to the NMEA '83 output of the AIS receiver. Now you have a boat Wifi network with AIS data on it.
...../

Some wiring and computer skills required!
Click to expand...
Probably easier to set up, cheaper and less power than a r36 would be a Raspberry Pi running openplotter. Does loads more as well, like using a rtl TV USB dongle to recieve ais on the cheap. Or the daisy ais reciever seems well regarded.
 
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I have an AIS receive only that I connect a vyacht wifi unit about £100 sends tha AIS data to iNAVx on my iPad works well, only problem is I prefer Navioics for general use.
Mike
 
iSailor works well, I have AIS from a Standard Horizon unit to my chart plotter and use ISailor on my iPad. The ISailor app is behind on updates but only by moments.
 
If you get an Android tablet or phone (they can be very cheap) and an RTL-SDR, that is a USB TV dongle (can be as cheap as £5 on ebay, you may need an adapter for your antenna connection and a USB male to micro USB male cable if they dont come with it) then there are apps like RTS_AIS that will do it. You can pick up planes on ADSB with the same kit.
 
Sandyman said:
Neither would I. Few weeks ago I was on Marine Traffic looking at the Solent when I clicked on a target to see the old Puffer the Vital Spark doing 42 Kts going past Osbourne Bay :) I kid you not.
Click to expand...

Yes, Marine Traffice is very good, but can be confusing if you don't know what's going on, this was me on the way back from Guernsey:
 

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