AIS courtesy

[tkeithlu]

Hey, Folks. Could I put in a plea for all of us to turn off our AIS units when moored (not anchored)? I've had as many as 25 collision warnings, totally disabling the unit from doing its job, simply by cruising by a marina. Thanks a bunch.

[boatman61]

Mayhap it would be simpler if you turned your alarms OFF when in area's its not needed.. ie cruising past marina's.. and anchorages..

[Paul Elliott]

We had an extended discussion about this back in 2013: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ed-103814.html

Since then I've only become more convinced that the solution to this "problem" should come from improved AIS alarm features and us learning how to better use our systems in these situations.

[barnakiel]

Odd. I am not bothered. Is it because I have a receiver only?

I have read the other thread. Can't quite see where the problem is. I switch off all alarms that I do not need.

b.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Mayhap it would be simpler if you turned your alarms OFF when in area's its not needed.. ie cruising past marina's.. and anchorages..

+1

Amen.

No need for AIS alarms in busy harbours. Anchored or moored pleasure boats will be the least of your problems.

Sent from my D6633 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[hoppy]

I don't see the point of AIS alarms when close to marinas, land, etc... Vessels close to me need to be watched with my eyes and vessels further away are more likely to change course when close to land so it's better to keep an eye on them as well.

So I just turn the alarm off when it starts going off regularly.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Mayhap it would be simpler if you turned your alarms OFF when in area's its not needed.. ie cruising past marina's.. and anchorages..

Agree with this -- why do you have it on? and if on turn off the alarm - we cut our sound off a long time ago

[DumnMad]

Improved AIS for anchorages - Name & length of boat, length of rode, size & brand of anchor.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by chuckr

- why do you have it on?

One reason why I leave mine on is I get an email every time the boat moves. If my boat is stolen I know very quickly and where it is. Www.marinetraffic.com

Also my family and friends, anywhere in the world, can see where I am anytime



Sent from a stupid phone that replaces words with weird stuff.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

One reason why I leave mine on is I get an email every time the boat moves. If my boat is stolen I know very quickly and where it is. AIS Vessel Tracking - AIS Positions Maps | AIS Marine Traffic

Also my family and friends, anywhere in the world, can see where I am anytime
.

And stalkers

If I am at anchor I have my MFD on (anchor watch) and then my AIS will be on. If I switch to silent mode, then there is a chance I will forget to switch back to transmit when I sail. I don't want to do that

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by hoppy

And stalkers

If I am at anchor I have my MFD on (anchor watch) and then my AIS will be on. If I switch to silent mode, then there is a chance I will forget to switch back to transmit when I sail. I don't want to do that

Its just one more instrument like your CP, speed/depth etc to switch on.. maybe a Switch on AIS alarm tag on your panel would be a good idea..

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Its just one more instrument like your CP, speed/depth etc to switch on.. maybe a Switch on AIS alarm tag on your panel would be a good idea..

The silent "switch" is a setting in the MFD and not a physical switch. I have been thinking of either adding a physical power switch for the AIS/VHF spliter, but that's to reduce power consumption at anchor when I still want the MFD and depth sounders for the anchor watch.

I'm not worried if my AIS transmission at anchor annoys others sailing nearby, because when I'm the one sailing it does not worry me when others do the same.

[tkeithlu]

Wow- That started a thread! I see some good points in there, but I still think there is a point to be made. Picture navigating Mobile Bay - there's lots of commercial traffic and you really want your AIS, but moored boats are cluttering up the screen.

[barnakiel]

I am still blind ;-(

Please open my eyes:

- scenario A) you are navigating in fog or rain, THEN you want to see all ships, also the anchored ones, NO?

- scenario B) you are navigating in good visibility, THEN maybe it is time to take your eyes off the plotter, and look around?

Please draw the scenario when the number of active AIS targets becomes a real problem. Because as is, this thread's claim sounds void to me.

Thank you in advance for your patience and effort.

b.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Hey, Folks. Could I put in a plea for all of us to turn off our AIS units when moored (not anchored)? I've had as many as 25 collision warnings, totally disabling the unit from doing its job, simply by cruising by a marina. Thanks a bunch.

An AIS display can certainly be cluttered at times, and this requires management of what is being displayed/alarmed. This is not unlike a RADAR needing sea state, rain clutter, etc. adjustments to maintain optimal reporting for the prevailing conditions; one range and set of adjustments does not suit all situations.

I believe you will find a lot of boaters keep their AIS on in marinas to keep tabs on their vessel while away, and sometimes to allow friends and family to monitor the vessel location as well.

An AIS display with good, user selectable/settable filtering capabilities doesn't suffer from the issue you describe. [Or at the least an alarm mute to be used judiciously...]

Our Vesper Watchmate 850 AIS transceiver has great filtering capabilities. I mention this because I am not familiar with other AIS units and their filtering capabilities, but that feature might be worth exploring/fine tuning in your system.

We also have a VHF with AIS Rx only, and we are able to independently filter its output in OpenCPN, and Navionics on our MFD.

We filter carefully because our PFDs have AIS transmitters on them for alerting to a person overboard.

All 3 of our AIS display interfaces filter differently, and all 3 have the capability to silence alarms as well.

My suggestion is to optimize your system(s) so AIS remains a useful and reliable tool for you at all times.

In hopes this is helpful.

Cheers!

Bill