AIS - What have you done?-gctid400808

[kwb]

My inkling is to go with recieve only - the way I see it I am a pleasure boater and by most standards pretty manuverable, the tug & barge or freighter not so much, so even if rules say I am good with my course I will alter to let them go about business.

If I go with a transponder I now start showing up for everyone to have to track and clutter up local screen and given that I am going by the bigger boat has the right of way approach to navigation I don't see a lot of value in becoming more clutter for someone else to have to filter.

Also this will be going into my PC - is there really any value in having NEMA output from the box? As of right now I don't have any NEMA networkable devices onboard. I can do either serial or USB on the PC.

For those that have PC and AIS - which model are you running?

[kwb]

http://www.navsoftware.com/comar-ais...-receiver.html Is one unit

http://www.milltechmarine.com/ACR-Na...ver_p_234.html is the unit I am leaning towards.

[mortonmanor]

kwb wrote:
My inkling is to go with recieve only - the way I see it I am a pleasure boater and by most standards pretty manuverable, the tug & barge or freighter not so much, so even if rules say I am good with my course I will alter to let them go about business.

If I go with a transponder I now start showing up for everyone to have to track and clutter up local screen and given that I am going by the bigger boat has the right of way approach to navigation I don't see a lot of value in becoming more clutter for someone else to have to filter.

?

We started with a receiver only, but will be adding a transmitter in the near future. It became clear to me last year when we were in a dense fog. I could easily see the boat ahead of us who had a transmitter, but they and others could not see us. It would also be an extra measure to have the commercial boats be able to easily see out speed and direction.

Given the choice and budget I personally would definitely go transmitter.

[Nikko]

Receive only - receiver built into the Standard Horizon 2150 VHF radio - networked to SH plotter and vessels (with AIS) show on plotter.

[mortonmanor]

Nikko wrote:
Receive only - receiver built into the Standard Horizon 2150 VHF radio - networked to SH plotter and vessels (with AIS) show on plotter.

I agree that is a great option for receive only. We have the 2100 and really like it.

[cosmo777]

Interesting article on Panbo, and whether it be it a victim of its own popularity

Panbo

I have a Garmin AIS300 (receive) and been trying it out.

After a while, I'll probably upgrade to the AIS600 (transmit)

[JimMc]

I have send and receive aka an AIS Transceiver. I have a full set of Furuno Navnet 3D gear.

I figured it better to be seen than not. The big guys can filter me out if they want. In our area there are few AIS equipped pleasure boats transmitting at this time. How many are receiving is an unknown. But I doubt many based on how few boaters have properly set up the DSC VHF to their GPS.

Hopefully if I need the USCG to ever save my arse the AIS will be helpful in finding me, along with my DSC VHF connected to my plotter GPS. If the sheet really hits the fan I have an EPIRB.

There was talk at one time of mandating AIS but that died for multiple reasons.

[SomeSailor]

Think about what you want from it.

If you can't see a large ship... they likely can't see you.

With an AIS transceiver you are sending them you position, course, speed, draft and status. If you're having mechanical problems or cannot make speed... they know this. If you're headed to where they are... they know this. They won't be ASSUMING you can get out of their way. They have watch teams that are monitoring all AIS traffic, including the USCG and port authorities.

So... if you just wanna see which container ship is going to run you down... go with the receiver only.

I have the Garmin AIS 600 installed and it's just great. Enabling the MARPA collision alarms is a real eye-opener and worth every penny of the $700 or so it cost.

[egbauman]

Garmin AIS 600 transceiver networked to all my other Garmin hardware.

I started out with a receiver only but moved up to the transceiver after reading about that fishing boat off the coast of NJ that was clobbered by the freighter in the night. We have lots of large commercial vessels here in Galveston Bay. I want to be seen.

[Nikko]

SomeSailor wrote:
Think about what you want from it.

......

So... if you just wanna see which container ship is going to run you down... go with the receiver only......

wow...

[mmichellich]

We have the least expensive Garmin receive only AIS. Decided there are just too many folks without AIS to worry about having to transmit. Those without AIS likely won't have radar either so the risk is the same. Don't know of a single boat with AIS and no radar. If they have radar they can see me in the fog. I had the Garmin hooked to my VHF radio with a pass through and it degraded my VHF radio's ability so I unhooked the Garmin and found that it still gave me good AIS info at about 4 miles with no antenna. This got me to thinking why go to the trouble of installing another antenna on the boat so I got a one foot emergency VHF antenna and it works out to maybe 5 miles or so. I really want my AIS for when I am in the fog to keep from hitting a big commercial boat-and use it for short distances like a couple of miles. I see a lot of commercial boats in Canada without AIS. In the US all commercial boats seem to have AIS working.

[mortonmanor]

mmichellich wrote:
We have the least expensive Garmin receive only AIS. Decided there are just too many folks without AIS to worry about having to transmit. Those without AIS likely won't have radar either so the risk is the same. Don't know of a single boat with AIS and no radar. If they have radar they can see me in the fog.

That might be true, though in my experience last year I could "see" a boat in front of me in the fog on AIS, but not very well on radar. In fog I have often seen boats first on AIS than on radar. For those and other situations (including SomeSailor's comments) I tend to lean towards better to be seen. If money is a primary concern then I'd opt for something like the Standard Horizon MX2150. Gives you a good VHF, integrates into NEMA systems and has a decent, but small, AIS display mode.

[kwb]

I would be AIS only and no radar - my radar unit seems to be dead and I haven't made a decision on what unit to get to replace it and really don't have the funds for the types of system that I want right now.

AIS is sort of a stop gap so that if I find myself out in the fog I have something to show the big chunks of steel until I do get a working radar reinstalled. I planned to do AIS in the future but death of my radar and funds in the checkbook are forcing my hand to do things a bit out of logical order.

I am usually running with others that have radar and if need be I can tuck in tight and follow but do want to have some means of knowing what may lie out there that has no chance of stopping/steering around me.

[JimMc]

Radar displays must be critically viewed and interpreted.

A displayed AIS target requires no interpretation. There is no doubt what it is or where its going. The AIS alarm features are great.

But given a choice of one, radar would be the priority.

[kwb]

JimMc wrote:
But given a choice of one, radar would be the priority.

Radar $3500+ for what I want and bare minimum (that would not look right on my boat) is $1500

AIS $2-400 for units under consideration

The AIS is a cost that is easy to absorb into normal monthly spending, radar not so much so I am treating the AIS as a quick stop gap until I get a working radar installed which is probably next season. I wasn't planning a radar in my spending this year and have burned through the boat project funds for the year (which hasn't been trivial)