SH VHF w/AIS into a Furuno Chartplotter?

[montenido]

Hi all,
I do need a new VHF radio as my current one is 20+ years old and does not have any of the mmsi, etc., features available. While I would love to go with a full "black box" AIS transponder for my Furuno radar/chart plotter, I am trying to keep costs down, and I already need the new radio.

Has anybody used one of the Standard Horizon AIS-equipped radios with a non-SH radar/chartplotter? The new radio has networking input and output, as does my Furuno system. I'm just not much of an electronics wiz.

Any help will be much appreciated

[cheoah]

Mine is hooked to a Garmin 5xx. Easy enough to get the NMEA talking from the chartplotter to the AIS, but I have not been able to get the AIS targets to display on the chartplotter. Still very useful being able to hail ships by name, have DSC, and see targets on a rudimentary heads up display.

Consider the command mic in the cockpit, giving AIS and ships radio capability at the helm.

[s/v 'Faith']

The networking part is not hard, just follow the directions... One nema 0183 in, another out. Avoid the 2100 often found on sale, and get the 2150.

You mention in your spots wanting an AIS "Transponder", the SH Matrix is receive only, but you probably know that. I suspect they will come out with an integrated transponder, but they have not yet.

[s/v 'Faith']

Originally Posted by cheoah

Mine is hooked to a Garmin 5xx. Easy enough to get the NMEA talking from the chartplotter to the AIS, but I have not been able to get the AIS targets to display on the chartplotter......

Mine is Hooked to a 5 series Garmin (540s) also. I had to go into the menu on the Garmin to tell it to display the ais data. I am away from the boat right now, but can look for where I found the settings later if you can not find it.

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by s/v 'Faith'

Mine is Hooked to a 5 series Garmin (540s) also. I had to go into the menu on the Garmin to tell it to display the ais data. I am away from the boat right now, but can look for where I found the settings later if you can not find it.

So sorry, mines actually a 492. Perhaps they have similar settings, and I would be grateful if you have any insights. I'm making the 400 mile trek to the boat next week for a much needed break, I'll double check connections and go through settings again.

cheers-

[Paul Elliott]

I've got a black box transponder (actually yellow, since it's from ACR) hooked up to my Furuno NN3D chartplotter. They work together well. I see no reason why the SH VHF/AIS receiver wouldn't work as well. The chartplotter *may* also display the VHF DSC target info that the SH puts out on the NMEA output, but I haven't tried this yet (I have a SH VHF, but haven't connected it to the chartplotter).

Tech stuff: The SH NMEA output isn't a true differential NMEA-0183 signal, but instead is single-ended with a common ground. This should still connect to the Furuno NMEA input, but I haven't tried it. Also, your chartplotter will need an available 38400 bps NMEA input to accept the AIS data. If you don't have a spare input that will run at that speed, you may need a NMEA multiplexer. Most modern chartplotters will have the high-speed (38400) input.

[colemj]

We have the SH 2150 hooked to our Furuno NN3D. It displays both AIS targets and DSC targets. The connections are pretty straight forward. It takes two 0183 ports on the Furuno - one for the AIS and one for DSC. I used the Furuno combo data port and cable connected to the SH using a multi-conductor signal cable (I had a long run - if yours is close enough you can simply use the standard Furuno cable). Set the AIS port for 38400 and the DSC for 4800. In the Furuno installation setup menu, check the AIS input box for the 38400 port and leave all boxes unchecked for the DSC port.

This assumes your Furuno is a NN3D model. I don't know about others.

Mark

[Jonty]

Hi Monte,

Our SH 2100 (Europe) coupled to Navnet Vx2 BB works very well with the added benefit that one can set an alarm on the radio when the plotter is off (power saving!). Only down side is the audio is not a patch on the Icom 601 so I may re-instate the Icom at some point.

John

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by montenido

Hi all,
I do need a new VHF radio as my current one is 20+ years old and does not have any of the mmsi, etc., features available. While I would love to go with a full "black box" AIS transponder for my Furuno radar/chart plotter, I am trying to keep costs down, and I already need the new radio.

Has anybody used one of the Standard Horizon AIS-equipped radios with a non-SH radar/chartplotter? The new radio has networking input and output, as does my Furuno system. I'm just not much of an electronics wiz.

Any help will be much appreciated

DSC is a valuable tool... The people that down play it, normally have no clue what it can do for you.

It is not just a distress system, but a way to contact other vessels, obtain their location or make sure they are ok without ever talking to them on the radio.

[Snore]

I hooked the 2150 to my Garmin 440 without issue. I used a connector block for the ais connections.

FWIW in hindsight I should have taken the hit and gone full AIS class B. Seeing others is nice, being seen is better!!!!