Combined VHF Radio/AIS Transceiver - Not Available?

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Christmas Beetle

I am a relative newbie to the yachting / boating world. I am also an IT geek. My investigations in recent years led me to invest in Vesper Cortex - installed late last year. I am a fan.

At 2K pricing it’s lovely kit but I can get equivalent functionality cheaper in separates.

Plus another .5K for a second handset.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by derfy

.... Thus, the RS100-B unit is not meeting my expectation of a) one box, and b) one coax from the box to the masthead, c) one 12v power connection, d) one Seatalkng/NMEA connection.

I recently installed this simrad unit with their recommended antenna splitter. The splitter is relatively small, though not quite as small as the old FM/VHF antenna splitters. It does require a separate power feed too. There is however only one coax to the antenna, and only one N2K connection.

I too wish the splitter was integral to the radio. But it's the best option in the market right now.

Making the splitter integral makes sense but i woildnt hold your breath. I also wish the power brick on my laptop was integral, of at least smaller.

[goboatingnow]

An em-trak SOTDMA with integrated splitter is around $800 and any decent high performance vhf for under $500 , you’ve $1300 solution is now better the vesper , as you have to buy a splitter normally ( these are anything upto $400 ) , if you want remote monitoring there are several N2K based solutions for $200-300 etc

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by derfy

Thanks for this suggestion, but the SIMRAD web page for the RS100-B states "AIS functionality requires either a second VHF antenna or a VHF/AIS antenna splitter." Thus, the RS100-B unit is not meeting my expectation of a) one box, and b) one coax from the box to the masthead, c) one 12v power connection, d) one Seatalkng/NMEA connection.

Why do I want this? Because I have a "green field" project - no legacy or installed base to plug into. I have to replace everything after a lightning hit took it all out; radio, masthead antenna, ais, splitter, mfd, autohelm, instruments - everything built with transistors and chips. One box should greatly reduce wiring clutter (and failure points), space, power, and should be cheaper (although it appears it is not - yet, anyway).

Is one box necessary? No. It is required? No. But then again, pleasure boating is (last I checked) a voluntary recreational activity - none of this is necessary or required.

I don't love having to own and operate this hardware- it is just necessary to safely sail my boat in busy seaways, and I don't track the techno developments in navionics. I am just asking the experts on this forum, and then checking their recommendations. Some have been very good. Some, not very accurate.

So far.. only the Cortex seems to do what I am looking for. All other nominations come up short.

Okay, looks like Cortex incorporated their VHF switch internally.
The switch I've seen is by Shakespeare, and requires Millamps to operate.
Seems like a good trade off for only 1 brand supplying a dual function.
Happy trails.
Boatyarddog

[derfy]

FYI to all from the OP... You might remember all my gear got knocked out by a lightning hit. Here's what I ended up getting: a Raymarine AIS700 (combined AIS transponder and antenna mux), and a simple Standard Horizon GX1850 - a very simple mounted vhf. About half the cost of a Cortex (w handset).

Why? I looked hard at the Cortex at the boat show">Annapolis Boat Show. Fairly nice, but way too complicated for what I do with a VHF - which is as little as possible. I don't make DSC calls to the bridges of other ships, etc, etc, and I don't need more alarms. The GX1850 just plugged right into the N2K/SeaTalkNG so I have DCS features w Lat/Long if I need them (like the SOS, etc). My new Ray Axiom chart plotter makes it easy to see all the nearby AIS targets and get the MMSI - so I can call them if I need to with a DSC call - but ships in traffic are usually listening if you call them by name. If not, would a DCS call make any difference? Probably not. In the end AIS is quite valuable, but VHF is really not worth a lot of money to me and I just need it to be simple and reliable. Since I saved some money, I bought two VHFs - one for the helm w masthead antenna, and another at the nav station near the AIS unit, using another antenna on the stern arch. Redundancy won out. Thanks for all your opinions. Cheers and Fair Winds