AIS

[casual]

I,purchased Polorview,a navagation download to my laptop.It has an AIS feature which I,really don't understand,without routing thru the VHF antenna,how will this feature work,only receiving GPS signals?I,am a bit new to the likes of these things.
Many Thanks for your time

[jstevens]

Casual,
As you may guessed, you need another box on your VHF antenna lead to decode the AIS transmissions and convert them to NMEA sentences and send them to your laptop.
You are on the slippery path to boat electonics hell.
I've documented some of my miss-spent time on this path at Upgraded Electronics

John

[casual]

John,Thank you for the complete description,as you stated I,am entering a web, I,have no business entering.I,am not nearly educated enough to take on the routeing interfacing ect.that you have accomplished,O,how I,wish I, were.My birthday came too many years ago to be savy in this NEW COMPUTER AGE.If you need assistence with an enging I,am GOOD TO GO.All joking aside is there some online program available to people such as myself that willl give me enough knowledge to go forward with a project such as this?At present I,am only returning to Stuart Fl,with a Boat I,purchased in MD.I,want to go offshore at Southport NC,down the East Coat home,I,find the ICW a pain.Having played DODGE THE FREIGHTERS many a time crossing too the Bahamas,AIS sounded great,I,see VHF radios with the dual feature,and a display screen so small I,would never see it.Lap top sounded great big display.I,do not wish to get into a big revamp of electronics as the Boat is currently in New Bern NC,awaiting my return,next week when I return to Stuart I,will be doing a Complete Refit,preparing for an Atlantic crossing in the spring 2013,probably rewire the entire boat,so best to leave it as it is till then.Thank you so kindly for sharing your knowledge,Dave

[prof_mariner]

Here are a couple of low cost AIS receivers you may want to investigate:

ACR Nauticast™ AIS Receiver - 2675 - SupplyTiger.com

Radar Gadgets - ADS-B aircraft radio receiver - Virtual Radar

[casual]

Thanks Guy's I went to ACR site,they claim this will receive on the vhf antenna,using a pl10 connector and a usb cable to my laptop.I,will let u know for a 120.00 bucks it is worth a shot.Thanks again Dave

[jstevens]

Dave,
That ACR receiver looks like a good choice. Check that software you've downloaded and verify that it can handle NMEA from two COM sources at different Baud rates. The AIS NMEA input will be at 38,400 Baud and most likely your GPS NMEA input is at 4800 Baud. If you software cannot handle two sources, then I recommend you scrap it and download OpenCPN, which can handle separate NMEA streams. Otherwise you will have to use the multiplexer feature of the AIS receiver to combine your GPS and AIS traffic.
The only other thing you will need is a VHF source - either install an antenna dedicated to the AIS receiver or use a VHF splitter to share your existing VHF antenna.

Good luck,
John

[prof_mariner]

I'm giving the demo version of PolarView a try at the moment and it appears it does support multiple serial ports (although I don't have an AIS receiver to test it).

[Paul Elliott]

Dave, since you're new to this I figured you wouldn't mind if I emphasized that you can't just connect your VHF antenna to the AIS and VHF radio at the same time. If you do, when you transmit the VHF will fry the AIS, and there will also be a serious impedance mismatch.

As John mentioned, you will either need a separate AIS antenna, or a proper AIS splitter. For testing you can of course disconnect the antenna from your radio and connect it to the AIS receiver. Don't forget you did this and try to transmit on your VHF radio -- you could possibly damage the radio.

[Jon Hacking]

Casual, we think AIS is the best thing for marine navigation since the GPS. We've written a page on AIS you might find interesting. It includes some screen shots, installation hints, & places to buy either an AIS receiver ($190) or a full transceiver ($495). And CF is probably the best place to get your questions answered. Good luck!

[casual]

Just when I,thought I,had this under control,different baud rates?I,thank all of you Guy's,I,am going to put this on hold till I,return to Stuart.Take some time and learn what I,am doing regarding all of the mentioned,I,have always keep a good look out in the past and will continue to do so,along the coast home.After 30 or so Gulf stream crossings haven't ben hit yet keep's you on your toes playing Dodge them Freighters,Thanks again Dave.
PS any suggestion for a MFD That will do it all Chart plotter AIS,Radar.that won't break the bank account,I currently have a Raymarine 6001+ auto helm and stand alone Raymarine depth and speed.Not Cheep just penny wise.

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by casual

...PS any suggestion for a MFD That will do it all: Chart plotter, AIS, Radar, that won't break the bank account? I currently have a Raymarine 6001+ autohelm and stand alone Raymarine depth and speed. Not Cheap just penny wise.

Casual, you're looking for gold. There are lots of MFDs that will do what you're asking, but they ain't cheap, especially the Raymarine ones. Small ones are $1,500 & they go up smartly with size. They're usually specific for only their brand of radar, & if you go very far you need to feed them more chart chips (at ~$250 each). We don't use our radar much anymore (with AIS, you hardly need one) so we just use OpenCPN (which is free) for chart plotting & AIS (& now, satellite views), and a separate radar display.

[casual]

Many Thanks to all I,am being enlightened slowly as my brain will only absorve in small ammounts,Safe Sailing Guys and thanks again Dave

[Goudurix]

I have 2 neigbours in the marina using this integrated AIS receiver/antenna for external mounting:

Digital Yacht - Light Years Ahead


No blackbox to be installed inside.

Can be connected to typical chart plotters Raymarine, Garmin etc.

They seem happy with it.

The 10 Nautical Mile receiving range seems a bit ont he low side, hence I would advocate to install it a bit higher than just on the pulpit, like on a lightweight dedicated aluminum pole that raises it a bit higher.
Or maybe on a spreader?

Jan

[casual]

Thank You Goudurix.I,followed your link and spent some time looking at there products in addition to the AIS antenna receiver they have a 5 in chartplotter ais combo,for 700.00 bucks.Might be what I,want,In the meantime just to get me home I,wonder if you rig there AIS active antenna to my OLD Garmin 172c chartplotter now on the boat,any idea,Too many things to think about at once time for a DRINK.

[Goudurix]

Hi "casual",

I wouldn't know. It needs GPS data, and a plotter to show it's data, so you will have to check that garmin's technical sheet.

I think by far the best way would be to find a dealer that supplies the Digital AIS 200, they will know about the NMEA and baud requirements.

Jan