Which AIS engine and plotter?

[john_morris_uk]

The Digital Yachts Class B systems seem to be the business.

I'm now VERY confused over which plotter. The ranges have expanded exponentially as far as I can see...

Choices choices

 

[Sybarite]

The Digital Yachts Class B systems seem to be the business.

I'm now VERY confused over which plotter. The ranges have expanded exponentially as far as I can see...

Choices choices

FWIW the French forum "Hisse-et-Eau" is organizing a group purchase of AIS.

https://webmail1m.orange.fr/webmail/fr_FR/read.html?FOLDER=SF_INBOX&IDMSG=89381&check=&SORTBY=1

 

[RichardS]

On this very subject, this was a photo I took a couple of hours ago having spent all day feeding a 4-core NMEA cable from one hull, under the bridgedeck, and across to the other hull and then trying to connect up a Raymarine C80 Classic, A Digital Yacht Multiplexer, a DSC VHF, a Vesper Marine XB8000 AIS transceiver and an active VM splitter.

It took all day ..... mainly because the C80 cable, the new NMEA cable, the multiplexer, the radio and the XB8000 all use different set of colours for each cable. Where two colours happen to be the same, they don't carry the same signal.

I took the photo when I had finished the whole lot and before I double-checked all the connections because I was so delighted to have finished it ........ but when I switched everything on, VHF received GPS at slow rate, the C80 received AIS at high rate, the tablet and laptop received via wifi GPS, AIS, heading and speed at high rate ........ but neither the tablet nor laptop received wind speed, wind direction or depth soundings from the C80!

I then took a very foolish decision and started to switch wires around in the choc blocks in what I thought would solve the problem but just made things worse. I was beginning to despair when I suddenly had a better idea ....... which is what I should have done in the first place and connect two devices only and test those two, then connect the third and test that alongside the other two and finally connect the fourth etc etc until I was ready to test the whole assembly.

Finally, everything talks and listens to everything else and I have all the C80 data available via wifi throughout the boat and all the AIS data available on the C80.

I know that choc blocks do not find favour amongst the cognoscenti on here but at least they make taking the whole thing apart and starting again very easy.

If you are thinking of going down this "connected" route then I would recommend the "one gadget at a time" approach. It would have saved me a lot of time and stress if I had started like that!

Richard

 

[BrianH]

Just an after-thought for anyone like me who has always been a bit miffed by the fact that on the AIS vessel-watching websites like Marine Traffic, the signal from all the boats would vanish a 1/4 mile from the entrance to the bay where Marina Kremik is situated. There's been this reception black-spot here ever since I fitted AIS 2 years ago.

Well I turned on my AIS last night to upgrade the software and, suddenly, my boat and the half dozen others with their AIS turned on (some are left like that all winter for some reason, even though the owners are back home in Austria) all appeared on Marine Traffic! Whoever maintains these coastal AIS stations must be installing more of them.

The stations are all voluntary feeds for Marinetraffic. You are between stations at Sibenik and Split but Sibenik now has two, the latest run by Sibenik Meteo with a higher antenna at 100m - perhaps that makes the improvement. See here.

In the Live Map page of Marinetraffic the left toolbar has "Layers" that offers boxes to check and "stations" will show all contributing receivers and their coverage, serviceability, etc. If you click on your own AIS icon on the Live Map it will indicate which station is reporting your signal.

 

[Tintin]

Lots of complicated solutions.

I like simple.

Garmin plotter, ais transceiver, RAM, radio and radar all just plug and play.

And the transceiver has an aerial splitter so one vhf aerial does the job for ais and vhf.

The extra expense is made up in less time (a lot less) installing.

 

[NickRobinson]

Has anyone succeeded in implementing a 'ready to use' as opposed to hobbyist set up using a laptop and DTV dongle?
eg (no connection) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marine-sh...420940?hash=item1c66102f0c:g:cb8AAOSwLN5Wl5Ek

 

[dom]

It took all day ..... mainly because....

Richard

Welcome to your new happier life Richard !!

http://global.wago.com/en/products/product-catalog/terminal-blocks-connectors/overview/index.jsp

 

[DJE]

Has anyone succeeded in implementing a 'ready to use' as opposed to hobbyist set up using a laptop and DTV dongle?
eg (no connection) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marine-sh...420940?hash=item1c66102f0c:g:cb8AAOSwLN5Wl5Ek

I had a similar set up on my previous boat but I had the Marine Gadget dongle and a GlobalSat USB GPS receiver. Just plugged it all in, pointed Opencpn at the correct COM ports and it all worked fine. I seem to remember that the AIS dongle only worked on one frequency so it wasn't as fast as some.

 

[NickRobinson]

I had a similar set up on my previous boat but I had the Marine Gadget dongle and a GlobalSat USB GPS receiver. Just plugged it all in, pointed Opencpn at the correct COM ports and it all worked fine. I seem to remember that the AIS dongle only worked on one frequency so it wasn't as fast as some.

The DTV dongles (hobbyist ) are so cheap, I'm tempted, but I like to shut the laptop down when sailing, so back to eyeballs...

 

[DJE]

The DTV dongles (hobbyist ) are so cheap, I'm tempted, but I like to shut the laptop down when sailing, so back to eyeballs...

Speaking of cheap, I'm seriously considering replacing the laptop with one of these:
http://www.pipo-store.com/pipo-x9s-4gb-64gb-windows-10-mini-pc.html

 

[TSB240]

Speaking of cheap, I'm seriously considering replacing the laptop with one of these:
http://www.pipo-store.com/pipo-x9s-4gb-64gb-windows-10-mini-pc.html

Do so !

I have been using one for a while and It is happily running Open CPN with VMH chart stick... I have all instruments , GPS/AIS transponder, VHF and AP connected. You may need a couple of serial to usb converters to make the conns.

Open CPN sorts all the different ports and baud rates.

on screen dark stand by uses less than 0.5 amp.

If you want a 42" plotter just plug in your widescreen TV!

Wireless connection to mobile in cockpit with Open cpn using boat gps.

Fanless and direct connection to 12 volt supply no inverters or 18v converters required as with laptops.

 

[Hydrozoan]

Welcome to your new happier life Richard !!

http://global.wago.com/en/products/product-catalog/terminal-blocks-connectors/overview/index.jsp

Specifically, for instrument wiring with easy spring push connections:
http://uk.farnell.com/wago/261-112-341-000/tb-wire-to-brd-12pos-14awg/dp/1283525

 

[GHA]

Do so !

I have been using one for a while and It is happily running Open CPN with VMH chart stick... I have all instruments , GPS/AIS transponder, VHF and AP connected. You may need a couple of serial to usb converters to make the conns.

Open CPN sorts all the different ports and baud rates.

on screen dark stand by uses less than 0.5 amp.

If you want a 42" plotter just plug in your widescreen TV!

Wireless connection to mobile in cockpit with Open cpn using boat gps.

Fanless and direct connection to 12 volt supply no inverters or 18v converters required as with laptops.View attachment 57558

Don't forget the raspberry pi as well, will do all that plus much more in the way of monitoring with a few added thermometers etc then spit it out over wifi. Downside is no vmh charts,. Draws about 0.1A with monitor off.

 

[john_morris_uk]

The Digital Yachts AIS seems to do everything and the blurb reads very well. However I've found the Yachting Monthly review where they recommend the Vesper.

I've got Navionics on an iPad does anyone know if the wifi from the Digital Yacht 3000 would put AIS onto the Navionics screen? I could get away without a built in plotter for a bit longer.

 

[LadyInBed]

I've got Navionics on an iPad does anyone know if the wifi from the Digital Yacht 3000 would put AIS onto the Navionics screen?.

Yes, See #28. :encouragement:

 

[dom]

Yes, See #28. :encouragement:

All true and a wireless capable AIS will certainly work with many apps. However, I know that C-Map, Navionics and Garmin Bluechart have, at least until recently, refused to implement functions like AIS on the basis that these apps are not supposed to be used as primary nav systems. Nearly sure that's still the case. As you say though, on many other apps it all works great!

 

[john_morris_uk]

Yes, See #28. :encouragement:

Thanks for the answers but it's Navionics in particular that I have. I appreciate that it's 'not to be used for navigation' but Raymarine plotters used to start up with a warning as well. (I can't remember if they still do.)

I can't see anywhere in the Navionics menus where wifi AIS can be added and wondered if I'd missed it somewhere? The app is getting more and more sophisticated and I wondered if I'd missed it.

It looks as though a dedicated plotter is the way ahead.

 

[dom]

Thanks for the answers but it's Navionics in particular that I have. I appreciate that it's 'not to be used for navigation' but Raymarine plotters used to start up with a warning as well. (I can't remember if they still do.)

I can't see anywhere in the Navionics menus where wifi AIS can be added and wondered if I'd missed it somewhere? The app is getting more and more sophisticated and I wondered if I'd missed it.

It looks as though a dedicated plotter is the way ahead.

Not possible on any of the packages listed in post #56 AFAIK. But perfectly feasible on others like Maxsea (really good raster app), iSailor, etc.

 

[RichardS]

Thanks for the answers but it's Navionics in particular that I have. I appreciate that it's 'not to be used for navigation' but Raymarine plotters used to start up with a warning as well. (I can't remember if they still do.)

I can't see anywhere in the Navionics menus where wifi AIS can be added and wondered if I'd missed it somewhere? The app is getting more and more sophisticated and I wondered if I'd missed it.

It looks as though a dedicated plotter is the way ahead.

I don't think there's a way of overlaying the AIS data onto the Navionics screen. However, having a map overlay is not really essential for AIS as the radar display option is almost equally as useful for AIS as you'e really only interested in ships in open water which are on a collision path and having a coastal outline on the screen is not particularly useful.

You can easily have Navionics running as one app and the AIS radar another and just flip to the AIS app when needed. The AIS alarm will still go off even in the app is not full screen at the moment. I think it's even possible to run both apps in split-screen mode so you can see both at the same time.

Alternatively there are other apps which will show charts (OpenCPN etc) an overlay with the AIS data but the maps are probably not as good as the Navionics ones.

Richard

 

[bitbaltic]

As others have said the Navionics apps for mobile platforms will not display AIS. DigitalYacht apparently have released a free AIS app to work with their Wifi AIS specifically to compensate for this: https://digitalyacht.net/2013/01/22/getting-nmea-data-to-an-ipad-or-iphone/