Is AIS in the house?

Captains Cat · Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 8:36 pm Post subject:

Roger, I looked after Bill's post but couldn't find it, I'll look again.

Charlie

mailbox101 · Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 7:15 am Post subject:

We have a Raymarine AIS500 integrated with our chart-plotter. I would compare it to radar in terms of effectiveness. Often we see things on it long before radar picks them up, and I feel comfortable having it turned on at all times, unlike radar that I only turn on at night or in the fog, but it is only good for AIS enabled targets.

I have no doubt that in a few years it will be as standard as radar on most boats. Whether or not to use advanced electronics, or just stick with radio, charts, and the art of navigation is a matter of personal preference, similar to a decision about whether to have navigation in your car, or just use paper maps.

AIS is not being just being used on boats; we have encountered several oil platforms, and one buoy, with transceivers.

The collision warning part is useless in the harbor as there are too many false alarms, but it is nice on the open sea, where it takes the guesswork out of figuring out CPA (Closest Point of Approach), and whether one needs to alter, or maintain, course. Also, by giving more advance notice, course can be altered more subtly; further in advance.

There have been no reliability issues with it thus far, and, in addition to the practical aspects, it is fun to see the statistics for some of the other boats we see on the bay.

David

hardee · Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:46 pm Post subject:

David,

Are you using RayMarine C or E series, and Did you need to add a multiplexer to put in the AIS?

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

K7MXE · Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:51 pm Post subject: AIS

I found AIS to be very handy when transiting the Ohio river last year.
I knew where the tugs were at ahead of time and they knew I was there as well. A few times they thought I was more than I was and came on the radio and asked how many barges I had. It also gave the folks running the locks a heads up that I was heading their way and my wait times were not bad at all. On Puget Sound in Washington there are a lot of targets so your kept busy turning off the alarm. I see more and more class B units on small boats. Mine is a Shine Micro made here in Washington and I use it with a multiplexer with my Raymarine C70. I had a very early one and I was on my own as far as making it work. Les at EQ marine found my glitch and got it going great. Bob Heselberg in Eatonville Wa

Alyssa Jean · Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 8:35 am Post subject:

Here is what the specs say about models and the 500.

Raymarine Multifunction Displays Requirements

•A-Series (A50/A50D, A57/A57D, A70/A70D)
•C-Series Widescreen (C90W, C120W, C140W)
•E-Series Classic software version 4.29 or higher*
•E-Series Widescreen (E90W, E120W, E140W)
•G-Series (GPM400 Processors)

mailbox101 · Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:27 am Post subject:

hardee · Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:18 pm Post subject:

timflan

I like to think I had a little to do with Standard Horizon's new GX2150 product. Suffice to say Standard Horizon has fixed the NMEA data routing issue I found so troubling.

See my write-up at Navagear:
New Standard Horizon GX2150 VHF/AIS/loudhailer: A winner, for sure

hardee · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 4:44 pm Post subject:

Tim,

This is a nice upgrade, Thanks for pointing it out, and for probably helping them (SH) devlope the change. Thumbs Up

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

seabeagle

Byrdman · Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 8:50 pm Post subject:

I have found my AIS a big plus on ALOYSIUS. We travel the Cumberland River often and the AIS sure helps cut down on surprises when we make some of the tight turns and for sure makes VHF contacting of the barge Captains much more accurate. Nothing like being able to call them by name and asking them where they would like you even before they see your vessel. I love it, would not rig another boat without it. I would put this item on my next boat even prior to radar. It has also been a joy to use in the busy coastal ports too. Again, nothing like being able to talk to the big folks and calling them by vessel name. Sweet.

Byrdman

starcrafttom · Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:13 am Post subject:

Tim, I can hear the guys at Standard now. " that will shut him up, for a while"

will the standard unit display on my c-80?

centerisland · Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:25 am Post subject:

In the areas I normally operate - Lake Washington, Puget Sound, San Juan Islands - there is good AIS coverage through shore-connected sites and good cellphone coverage, so I've been using the ShipFinder app on my iPhone. I also have an AIS receiver hooked to Coastal Explorer on my trawler and it's nice to see the plots integrated, but I much prefer the ShipFinder interface.

I tried the GX2150 (with test AIS data) in the WM store the other day - it took a while for me to figure it out (no manual) but once you learn the interface it is possible to use it. My concern, though, is that it takes a lot of button presses to get the data and while you're doing that, you are not paying attention to piloting the boat. And the radio needs to be mounted in a very convenient location (I don't think overhead will work well in practice).

rogerbum · Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:54 am Post subject:

Grumpy · Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:32 am Post subject:

We already invested in AIS and enjoy the abilty to see and track the targets directly on the GPS screen, but this series (even the GX2000) offers a real step forward in that you can hail an AIS target directly using DSC with one button push.

With the AIS/GPS setup alone you can get the MMSI #'s but then you either have to wait for the ship name and hail or you can try inputting an MSSI# while underway/in fog/rough water etc which to my mind is just as bad as texting while driving.

For that reason alone the GX2000 is on my want list.

Better would be if the GPS manufacturer would simply allow me to place the cursor over a target and press a key to get the radio to call it.

M