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17-12-2015, 16:45
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Back in Northern California working on the Ranch
Boat: Pearson 365 Sloop and 9' Fatty Knees.
Posts: 10,488
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McMurdo AIS
Does anyone have feedback on the McMurdo AIS Smartfind M15 (M15S) or (M15SW)? The M15SW, seems to be WiFi which I think talks to your laptop, cordless. Which would be a big plus if I had my Laptop in the cockpit. I cannot find pricing on the M15SW. I see the M15 for under $200.
__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow - what a ride!"
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17-12-2015, 17:28
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#2
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Long Range Cruiser
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Australian living on "Sea Life" currently in England.
Boat: Beneteau 393 "Sea Life"
Posts: 12,820
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Hang on, that's not a proper AIS is it? I have the McMurdo smartfind 510 and its a MOB ais transmitter that works like a little EPIRB. Mine attaches to an arm or safety harness and when set off alerts AIS receivers to about 4nm away.
You are after a full AIS transponder or receiver, arn't you?
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17-12-2015, 17:34
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#3
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Long Range Cruiser
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Australian living on "Sea Life" currently in England.
Boat: Beneteau 393 "Sea Life"
Posts: 12,820
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Re: McMurdo AIS
oops, sorry. You meaN this one?
http://www.mcmurdomarine.com/ais-electronics/101-smartfind-m15-ais-receiver
I haven't seen it before.
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17-12-2015, 18:26
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Martinique
Boat: Fortuna Island Spirit 40
Posts: 2,298
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Re: McMurdo AIS
I can't comment on that one... but I recently purchased a Daisy receiver and am blown away for the cost.
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17-12-2015, 23:10
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Back in Northern California working on the Ranch
Boat: Pearson 365 Sloop and 9' Fatty Knees.
Posts: 10,488
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Quote:
Originally Posted by travellerw
I can't comment on that one... but I recently purchased a Daisy receiver and am blown away for the cost.
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I found this website for the dAISy...
https://www.tindie.com/products/astu...-ais-receiver/
Ya...it's really cheap. How long have you been using it?
__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow - what a ride!"
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17-12-2015, 23:18
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Back in Northern California working on the Ranch
Boat: Pearson 365 Sloop and 9' Fatty Knees.
Posts: 10,488
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Re: McMurdo AIS
So the M-15 is their no frills unit that needs an antenna. The M-15S has an antenna spliter, allowing you to share the VHF antenna. I assume the M-15SW has the spliter and WiFi capabilities. They are pretty vague on the latter, so I am to assume it's a brand new addition.
__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow - what a ride!"
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18-12-2015, 04:13
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#7
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Long Range Cruiser
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Australian living on "Sea Life" currently in England.
Boat: Beneteau 393 "Sea Life"
Posts: 12,820
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Celestialsailor
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$59! That is,cheap!
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18-12-2015, 04:32
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 667
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Quote:
Originally Posted by travellerw
I can't comment on that one... but I recently purchased a Daisy receiver and am blown away for the cost.
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I would anticipate dAISy being very reliable, due to the simplicity (once wired up I might be tempted to shrink wrap it all).
Tradeoffs can be either very noticeable, not noticeable at all in use, or somewhere in between.
"dAISy was designed around a modern single chip radio IC. This architecture is instrumental for the very low price, small form factor and low power consumption. The trade-offs are longer acquisition time, lower sensitivity and less range than commercial AIS receivers. Still, with a good antenna dAISy is more than adequate to monitor local ship traffic. "
How are "longer acquisition time" and "lower sensitivity" and "less range" panning out in practice?
PS. It would probably be worth doing a dedicated thread on dAISy?
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18-12-2015, 04:34
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Posts: 488
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Re: McMurdo AIS
I have a Daisy and it's fantastic value. Do note however that the current version does not have a NMEA output, it outputs over USB. If you are good with a soldering iron you can add a NMEA output reasonably easily. Without modification it works really well with OpenCPN and with a decent antenna has excellent range.
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum
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18-12-2015, 04:39
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Posts: 488
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Re the question:
How are "longer acquisition time" and "lower sensitivity" and "less range" panning out in practice?
Using a masthead antenna I have picked up a class A receiver 19nm away with a low hill in between.
I haven't noticed any issue with acquisition time, when I turn it on it generally picks up everything in the locality within a few minutes. Remember that AIS only transmits occasionally unless the vessel is moving fast.
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum
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18-12-2015, 07:50
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Martinique
Boat: Fortuna Island Spirit 40
Posts: 2,298
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Re: McMurdo AIS
I only use my Daisy receiver as a backup device. However when I tested it, it seemed to have the same range as my Vesper and I didn't notice slower acquisition.
The cool thing about the Daisy is its a community project (not really open source). So there is a ton of information in the forums. There is even instructions on adding WIFI functionality for $6. Although that requires some fairly in-depth hobbiest electronic skills.
For $59.. Everyone should have one!
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18-12-2015, 13:08
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Back in Northern California working on the Ranch
Boat: Pearson 365 Sloop and 9' Fatty Knees.
Posts: 10,488
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ribbit
I would anticipate dAISy being very reliable, due to the simplicity (once wired up I might be tempted to shrink wrap it all).
Tradeoffs can be either very noticeable, not noticeable at all in use, or somewhere in between.
"dAISy was designed around a modern single chip radio IC. This architecture is instrumental for the very low price, small form factor and low power consumption. The trade-offs are longer acquisition time, lower sensitivity and less range than commercial AIS receivers. Still, with a good antenna dAISy is more than adequate to monitor local ship traffic. "
How are "longer acquisition time" and "lower sensitivity" and "less range" panning out in practice?
PS. It would probably be worth doing a dedicated thread on dAISy?
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The one thing I noticed is the dAISy is a single channel switching between the two frequencies vs. the Smartfind that is a constant two channel. But if it performs as fast...who cares. As far as the shrink wrap...I suppose there are a few other ways to water resist it. I've had a few "non-marine product in the past and they did not hold up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AedanC
I have a Daisy and it's fantastic value. Do note however that the current version does not have a NMEA output, it outputs over USB. If you are good with a soldering iron you can add a NMEA output reasonably easily. Without modification it works really well with OpenCPN and with a decent antenna has excellent range.
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum
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So if I used it to just run on my laptop (via USB cable) with OpenCPN, it works well?
...Also with the dAISy, you have the added cost of a splitter.
__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow - what a ride!"
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18-12-2015, 13:13
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#13
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Martinique
Boat: Fortuna Island Spirit 40
Posts: 2,298
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Celestialsailor
The one thing I noticed is the dAISy is a single channel switching between the two frequencies vs. the Smartfind that is a constant two channel. But if it performs as fast...who cares. As far as the shrink wrap...I suppose there are a few other ways to water resist it. I've had a few "non-marine product in the past and they did not hold up.
So if I used it to just run on my laptop (via USB cable) with OpenCPN, it works well?
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Look up "Conformal Coating".. I carry a can of it on my boat and have coated a few things that weren't "Marine Grade".
It works fantastic with OpenCPN or Polarview!
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18-12-2015, 14:00
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Posts: 488
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Celestialsailor
...Also with the dAISy, you have the added cost of a splitter.
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It's the same as any other AIS device in that respect, you either need a splitter or a dedicated antenna, whichever you prefer. There is another thread going on this forum at the moment with some strong views being presented on both sides of that one.
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18-12-2015, 19:23
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Back in Northern California working on the Ranch
Boat: Pearson 365 Sloop and 9' Fatty Knees.
Posts: 10,488
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Re: McMurdo AIS
Quote:
Originally Posted by AedanC
It's the same as any other AIS device in that respect, you either need a splitter or a dedicated antenna, whichever you prefer. There is another thread going on this forum at the moment with some strong views being presented on both sides of that one.
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I saw that discussion. I just don't wat to add any more junk on the outside of my boat. The McMurdo Smartfind M-15S has a built in switcher. Although I'm not sure if it automatically switches or not. McMurdo is so vague with their specs. It's a wonder they sell any of them.
__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow - what a ride!"
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