VHF/AIS splitter.

[johnphilip]

Looking at ais myself at the moment. Am I correct in thinking classB is really only beneficial to boats travelling at 14+ knots . Ish

No not so at all. I think the difference is that vessels travelling above set speeds transmit their position etc at more frequent intervals for quite logical reasons. All class B do transmit their details, which is why sometimes coming into a busy harbour your plotter screen is so cluttered with AIS arrows from yotties you have a job to find navigation marks. However I think AIS B invaluable at night or in shipping lanes or fog.

 

[Refueler]

Looking at ais myself at the moment. Am I correct in thinking classB is really only beneficial to boats travelling at 14+ knots . Ish

In simple terms : Class B+, a new standard, utilises SOTDMA format transmissions which offer a 5W power output (2.5x more powerful than a regular Class B), a guaranteed time slot for transmission in busy traffic areas and faster update rates depending upon the speed of the vessel.

But Class B is good enough for most ... but most later units have converted to Class B+

 

[jwilson]

The Emtrak 953 works well, has 5w output and has a built in Tx splitter. Easy to fit: if it goes wrong you still can revert to AIS receive from your VHF. Mine did go wrong after about a year: Emtrak fixed it promptly. they even answered the phone, which these days is a huge recommend.....