Recommendations for AIS setup, Australian boat

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Snore

Another Vesper user. Plus with the Vesper WiFi, it slings the NMEA 2000/Ray NG data to my iPad. This gives a cheap display below

Yes, the fact that the wee thing does WiFi as well was the clincher for me. Instead of having a second display outside (I have both an aft deck and a pilothouse helm), I can just use a waterproofed tablet and remove it when preferred. Makes for a cleaner view!

[PuttingDoctor]

I am also a happy Vesper XB8000 user. Mine is installed with a full B&G 12T plotter on my 38’ Irwin.
I am just transitioning to my new to me Irwin 46 and already am in touch with the Canadian distributor who will program and ship my new unit to me in the USA. Price in CDN$ was $990 if I recall correctly.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by PuttingDoctor

I am also a happy Vesper XB8000 user. Mine is installed with a full B&G 12T plotter on my 38’ Irwin.
I am just transitioning to my new to me Irwin 46 and already am in touch with the Canadian distributor who will program and ship my new unit to me in the USA. Price in CDN$ was $990 if I recall correctly.

I got mine from Milltech in Seattle because I had some U.S. dollars. The fellow (Steve?) was very helpful with the few question I had as I'd had my eye on Vesper gear for a few years now. I know the Masutech stuff is popular, but I don't mind a few more dollars for bulletproof AND the owner answering the phone in Kiwiland.

[2big2small]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

I got mine from Milltech in Seattle because I had some U.S. dollars. The fellow (Steve?) was very helpful with the few question I had as I'd had my eye on Vesper gear for a few years now. I know the Masutech stuff is popular, but I don't mind a few more dollars for bulletproof AND the owner answering the phone in Kiwiland.

I bought from Milltech as well and Steve is indeed very helpful. I went with the Amec brand which is more affordable. They also do wifi and what not should you like these features.

[chouliha]

We are huge fans of Vesper owning two AIS units. First a 750 before Vesper had USCG approval for the 850 model. We now have the 850 model which we love! It’s 4 years old. HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT

Also strongly recommend a transmitter as well. We have been out cruising now almost 14 years and it amazes us how few boats actually broadcast an AIS signal. For a few extra bucks why not have vessels see you. We have seen large vessels move around us on our approach to the Panama canal in strong rain and poor visibility. If you are concerned about certain areas transmitting a signal then turn the transmitter option off.

The Vesper unit has a USB port and we plug it directly into the computer where we feed OpenCPN. It also has additional take off for direct wiring to other units. Plus depending on what type of VHF it will direct call ships using the Vesper to initiate the call.

At the very least have a look at the products Vesper Marine produce.

Good luck with your choices

Chuck
Jacaranda
Mo’orea

[Pete7]

If price is the issue, then NASA did a AIS widgets. This is the Mk3 but the Mk 2 come up for sale occasionally on e bay:

https://www.nasamarine.com/product/ais-engine-3/

[brucebach]

Not necessarily a recommendation, but an FYI FWIW: There's a free app called 'OnCourse' that allows you to enter your boat information and then it displays your position in real time - along with details of all AIS ships - and gives collision warnings. I've used it and found it helpful (though not saying it's a substitute for an actual AIS transmitter): https://help.marinetraffic.com/hc/en...se-Mobile-App-

[ZULU40]

Im sort of in the same boat. Probably quite nearby to you too.
I have a C90W and I would like AIS. At the same time my radio could do with updating wont channel scan, and is only 20w where newer sets are 25 watts. A newer set with AIS and better features seems like a good proposition.

I figure potentially the cheapest way out is to acquire an AIS equipped radio that can travel with C90w protocol suite, which isnt that difficult. This would share the antenna so thats a saving too.

Some of these radios arent as expensive as all that, I recall Lowrance Link 8 less than A$400 (NMEA 2000), and Standard Horizon GX2000 Matrix (check AIS installed) less than A$300, but there may be others that escape my memory.

Even cheaper than this are Quark AIS AO26 receivers which are NMEA 0183 wireless, but I think require a splitter or be prepared to add another antenna and cable. These run less than A$200.

[CapnBazza]

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...onder&_sacat=0

[ilenart]

Another vote for GME, which I installed on my yacht 18 months and has worked flawlessly. Note that is has NMEA output both at 4800 and 38,400 so it should work for whatever your plottter requires. I also have the splitter so it uses the existing antenna plugged into the VHF radio (Also GME).

One trick to watch for the installation is to allow enough room below the units for the connections, particularly for the antenna input. I found I needed 10cm below each unit.

Ilenart

[AussieCat]

Hi. We've just been through this exercise and looked at all the options and costs involved. As we run all Raymarine gear that was the obvious choice but luckily we had a look at other options first. There's a Chinese company called Huayang technology who market a great combo unit the Kcombo-7A. It's a 7" plotter with built in GPS antenna, built in AIS transceiver as well as a fish finder / sonar. Note it only takes C-Map or K-Chart. Cost delivered to Mooloolaba complete with optional with the transducer (fitted while we were on the hard for anti-foul) was AUS$815. You'll also require a AIS / VHF antenna splitter (note it must be for AIS as a normal splitter will not work). Purchased from Whitworths GME AISS120 unit for about $300. Whole setup was $1114. Comparable to just a Raymarine AIS transceiver and splitter around $950 - $1000 figured much better value. Gives us AIS transceiver, Fish / Sonar as well as a completely independent plotter should anything go wrong with the Raymarine setup. PM me if you want a bit more info. Cheers, Roy. Check them out. Links are

Email: michael@huayang-tech.com

Web: www.huayang-tech.com

[frozenhawaiian]

we have a vesper marine unit which we've been very happy with. we opted for a dedicated VHF antenna for the AIS.

[Nicholson58]

We have Vesper Watchmate 850. Love it. It’s stand alone with NMEA optional output. 15 watts or less. It does anchor watch extremely well. Pretty good filters. Intuitively easy to operate. In the anchorage we shut down navigation and leave the AIS on for anchor watch and for finding our fleet. Under way, it can communicate with the plotter if you need it to. We let it ride alone and use the data generated regarding bearing, distance, COG, CPA and time to CPA. Also listed is vessel data.

[GILow]

Thank you all. Some great responses here. I’ll follow up some links and leads. I can’t complain about a lack of options now.

[ronstory]

I'm also in the market for AIS tranceiver since our boat is receive only through our Simrad radio.

Has anyone had any experience with AIS Class B transceivers with SOTDMA? SOTDMA has a bit more transmit power at 5W and uses the same network protocol as the Class A transceivers.