Folks, just wanted to share my experience with
buying a used West
Marine 1000
AIS and having it reprogrammed with my MMSI.
It couldn't be much easier. I filled out an online form on West Marine's web page (the same form as if you had purchased a new unit on line), printed it out, and dropped it off at a local store.
Two weeks later, it's back at the store and ready for pick-up for $53. West
Marine takes care of the
shipping and details.
I hesitated on
purchasing a used unit out of fear that reprogramming would be difficult and expensive, or that the
shipping costs would eat up the
money I saved by
purchasing a used unit. It turned out to not be an issue. My only complaints are that the on-line form is not very easy to find (
AIS Transceiver & MMSI Registration | West Marine), and that the sales rep at the store was not initially familiar with how to handle the issue. He had to make several
phone calls, but that's OK, since he got it right.