Radar vs AIS

[downunder]

Just look at the development of nav Aids.

Radar has been around a nav tool for ages and AIS is a new tool that helps particually in this age of increased traffic density but will never replace radar as a great tool.

Radar 1.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Silvana White

Would you recommend AIS and or Radar in the Mediterranean? If you could only have one which do you think would be of more use?

They are not either / or.

Would you recommend the mainsail or the jib in for a sailing boat?

Gettin' my drift? Get both, if you can afford.

Esp. that a cheapo AIS receiver costs less than 200 bucks.

b.

[wolfenzee]

They both have an over lap in the sense they show the location of nearby vessels.An AIS gives more information on vessels and has more range...but radar also shows other stuff. Neither are necessary or should be relied on, both are helpful aids to navigation.

[SailFastTri]

One more vote for radar first, add AIS if the budget allows. (For all the reasons stated by others.) We have both.

We love the AIS for its wealth of information and precision for collision avoidance with only those other vessels who use it, but radar augments your eyes in conditions when visibility is limited.

[wolfenzee]

I am on a pretty tight budget and radar was one of those "maybe someday possibly when I can afford it", but I found a secound hand (barely used, maybe not used) 2001 Raymarine for $125 for everything except the SeaTalk cable to connect it to my laptop.
Because I have radar now, AIS has moved up on my priority list for electronic gizmos.

[boasun]

Not every vessel out there have AIS and some that do may have it turned off. The Radar will present all contacts that have a good radar return.
There have been times when I could see a vessel and they never appeared on the radar. So you have to contend with weather conditions because many vessel may be masked by the large seas.
So pending on funds I would acquire a Radar first then later when the war chest has been built back up acquire AIS.

[osirissail]

Local fishermen in their pangas and small boats along with 3rd World tramp steamers and inter-island freight carriers do not have AIS equipment as there is no requirement for them to have it. You are lucky if they even have a radio or operating navigation lights. Only in 1st World areas and its shipping is AIS a requirement. So for a cruiser, AIS is a nice to have, but very limited in its usefulness in the "rest of the world."
- - Radar will return a target blip of anything out there it can see from wave crests to super tankers. But radar has a steep learning curve. Which you must expend considerable effort and time learning how to tune and use it properly. In different sea conditions radar must be constantly re-tuned to achieve your objective of seeing what is actually out there.
- - AIS is neat - turn it on or off, nothing to fiddle with. Radar is ineffective or only partially useful if you do not know how to operate it properly. If you do take the time and effort to learn how to use radar there is nothing better.