Using an AIS engine with Maxsea 10

[gettingready]

Does anyone have any experience with Maxsea V10 and AIS. I boiught a NASA AIS engine at LIBS yesterday and it is working on my laptop PC with the demo software supplied by NASA. When I try and use it with Maxsea I cannot find the option to select the AIS instrument choice in the "norm" drop down choice. The manual says that AIS should be one of the choices but I don't see it.

Anyway it is working very well with SOBvMAX and I am picking up a ship moored on Poole Quay which is about 3 miles away and this is with a VHF antenna resting on my window sill!

 

[steverow]

Which version of maxsea 10 do you have?? 10.1 or 10.3 or 10.5.??
The AIS module is a "bolt-on" only from 10.3 up and will require the dongle upgrade codes as well as additional software from a dealer.

 

[gettingready]

Thanks Steve. Well I have Maxsea 10.1.3.2 and it does not have the AIS option that I can find. So I will investigate upgrading it but as I didn't purchase it that might be difficult! I don't use it for serious navigation - mostly just use at home for passage planning and exploring parts of the World that I will never expect to sail in.

I had a look at your photos. You do have a lot of gadgets on your boat don't you! I thought I was a techno-freak but you beat me hands down. I'm sure all of it is absolutely essential /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[steverow]

The latest version of Maxsea is 12.5.x.x and a serious bit of kit it is as well, though unfortunately not cheap, and the AIS is still an additional module.
Definitely the best Nav program there is though.
However, as an alternative you might like to look at Maptech Chart Navigator Pro.
This does AIS MARPA, Weather, Tides, etc in fact everything that Maxsea does, it's just not quite as refined as maxsea but nonetheless does it all well.
As long as you dont mind using Maptech BSB raster charts it's a good bit of kit and is what I'm using these days having tested the program in it's original "American" form from Rose Point Nav systems and subsequently purchasing the Maptech version.
It's just a shame that it wont handle the encrypted S57's from the Admiralty ECS.
PM me if you want more details of it...and you can download a trial from Rose Point. (Maptech Supply it under Licence from Rose Point).

Sorry about the gadgets...it's the radio engineer in me...it's in the blood...but its half the hobby for me getting it all to work together.