The older SH VHFs with AIS or newer ones that also include built-in GPS (needed for AIS and DCS) plus the RAM Mic ( if in the budget) with a good VHF/AIS
antenna are inexpensive, solid solutions, as mentioned in several posts.
What has not been mentioned, especially those pushing the “safety” of transmitting AIS is that AIS is public data. Like, anyone with access to the
internet, can track any AIS transmitting vessel. This might not resonate with some of you but about 11 years ago, a young woman single-handing around the world to raise money/awareness for a charity was tracked down by her stalker using AIS and murdered.
So there are plenty of us who might not want to afford an AIS transmitter based on our use cases and prefer not to be tracked for
safety reasons. And it’s a given that AIS can be turned-off when sailing in riskier waters (Aka pirates 🏴*☠️).