Virtual AIS Receiver for OpenCPN

[sarita]

Hi,

We are looking for a couple of volunteer OpenCPN users who have an iPhone or iPad and would like to try out the beta of our Boat Beacon app "Virtual AIS receiver" feature for free.

This new "Virtual AIS receiver" feature allows you to share real time internet NMEA AIS data from our worldwide AIS network from your iOS device running Boat Beacon to other apps on the device and on the same network. The Beta trial provides a free copy of Boat Beacon plus free subscription for 3 months to the internet AIS service and all other IAPs. Our AIS service is fed by one of the largest network of AIS shore receivers world-wide covering most major ports, harbours and popular coastal areas with over 60,000 live ship positions at any time.

We would also be interested to hear if the OpenCPN community think this could be a useful feature.



Please let me know by direct message if you would be interested in joining the beta.

[TheOffice]

OpenCpn does not run on iOS!

[sarita]

Hi

Thanks for your post reply.

The idea is to have OpenCPN running on a Mac/Windows or Android device receiving NMEA AIS data from an iOS device. If that helps?

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by sarita

We are looking for a couple of volunteer OpenCPN users who have an iPhone or iPad and would like to try out the beta of our Boat Beacon app "Virtual AIS receiver" feature for free.

I'm willing to help. If you can convince me you can convince anyone. I've seen a photo of a guy that showed his two-day old AIS position as current from Marinetraffic. I've seen latencies of an hour between Marinetraffic and over the air.



I'm running OpenCPN 5.0.0 on Windows 7 Pro and a dAISy 2+ for real-time AIS and iPhone 6 w/ iOS 12.4.3. I also have a Windows 8.1 laptop. I'm on and off the water a lot but the entertainment value of what you suggest is sufficient that I could spend some time at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation or USCG Station Annapolis where I can look out the window and compare reality to data. At Station Annapolis I have radar also.



Write dave@auspiciousworks.com - I don't get to PMs very fast.

[Wayne hoath]

+1 for doubting the accuracy/latency of services such as marine traffic.

Personally I think it’s a bad idea. Anyone on the water who needs AIS should have a transponder. If we encourage people just to receive AIS over the internet before long everyone is invisible to everyone else. We all receive and no one sends.

We should see and be seen.

[SCarns]

I’ll check it out. I actually have a transponder on my boat and a dedicated cellular modem that does a pretty good job of keeping me connected as long as I am within reasonable distance of shore.

[sarita]

Hi,

Great, thanks for volunteering. Can you send me and email address and I will arrange an invite to the TestFlight Beta program to be sent out to you with instructions on how to use the new Boat Beacon AIS Sharing feature.

Two hulls better than one
Sarita

[sarita]

Originally Posted by Wayne hoath

+1 for doubting the accuracy/latency of services such as marine traffic.

Personally I think it’s a bad idea. Anyone on the water who needs AIS should have a transponder. If we encourage people just to receive AIS over the internet before long everyone is invisible to everyone else. We all receive and no one sends.

We should see and be seen.

Hi Wayne, I agree with you that everyone should get an AIS Transponder if they can afford one and I do have both on my boat - a transponder and internet AIS. I find internet AIS allows me to see further and over islands/round bends and also allows me to view the AIS situation and get alerts anywhere on board on my device. Another good thing about internet AIS is it lets people experience the benefit of AIS for little money before they fork out for a VHF unit and from our experience it encourages them to do so.

Unlike MT we only show targets that are live within the last 30 minutes and we do not have a network delay built in.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by sarita

Unlike MT we only show targets that are live within the last 30 minutes and we do not have a network delay built in.

But you're using their data feed, right? I'm not aware of any other global network.

[sarita]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

But you're using their data feed, right? I'm not aware of any other global network.

No, we have our own network. We sponsor locations by providing free AIS receivers where we don't have coverage. You can read more about it here:-

Cover your area

MT are not cheap to get Real time data from.

[vagspel]

Hi,

Several times per year I am getting questions if I can link my AIS stations to different new AIS servers.
Some are offering AIS receivers and some nothing.
I run AIS stations for many years for my own interest but never getting anything of value for all the work that is put into getting it to work 24/7/365.
I can only blame myself doing this for free!
On the other hand, as an example, MT and VF are making money on all the contributors around the world.
When I am having courses on how to install, configure, buy charts and use OpenCPN I always tell them that for safety always install an AIS transponder.
"We should see and be seen"
Fair wind
Gunnar
www.o-vader.se
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais...s/stations/271
https://stations.vesselfinder.com/stations/5125
https://stations.vesselfinder.com/stations/5007

[Baikal]

You guys from AIS HUB are well placed!
Nobody owes you anything!
It is well known that due to volunteers you have a free base station! Have you tried to invest in the construction of a base station and pay expenses yourself?
What can you offer worthwhile in return?

Recently I dealt with AIS HUB wanted them (for free) to transfer data from their AIS server (based on NMEA Router), which has been broadcasting in MT for three years now.
Could not accept my data transfer! In MT, everything is transmitted, they do not, maybe such specialists. They correspond in correspondence for a very long time!

In general, I would like to have in OCPN the ability to create a virtual AIS transponder for transmission to any service.
As well as receiving AIS data in exchange with this service.
Something similar was done at MT.

Eternal memory to the developer of NMEA Router!
All the work of the author Neal Arundale uploaded here https://github.com/arundaleais