Any recommendations on cheap AIS recivers?

[BOAT]

Okay, I got this great chartplotter here now and a full NMEA200 backbone network all working great, so I am ready to hook up the VHF to it so I can plot DCS calls, but what about all those boats out there transponding AIS signals??? How do I plot them?? It sure would be handy when I'm sailing around Los Angeles at night. Can I just plug one into my new NMEA2000 Backbone??

All I really need is to receive signals and plot, any bargains out there for a receiver that any of you guys are using or any recommendations? (I would think you guys back east in those crowded waterways would be all over this!)

Please teach me!

[Crikey]

Mine's crapped out! Looking at this model:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... fhWrdLvt8E

R.

[BOAT]

That looks like a great deal Crikey but I already have a DSC radio that came with the boat. I sort of hate to put in another radio that has AIS too because my MMSI is already programmed into the one I have in 'boat' now.

I was wondering if there was a 'black box' solution for adding AIS receive to the network. I guess I'm lost in electronics land again - (I hate to say "back in my day" all the time but all this new fangled stuff does get me a little confused at times).

Like, I just bought new reduction cards for my old sextant - and then I thought, "what the hull am I doing this for??"

I guess if replacing the radio is the best value I could do that - do you use your AIS a lot?

[Crikey]

That looks like a great deal Crikey but I already have a DSC radio that came with the boat. I sort of hate to put in another radio that has AIS too because my MMSI is already programmed into the one I have in 'boat' now.
I was wondering if there was a 'black box' solution for adding AIS receive to the network. I guess I'm lost in electronics land again - (I hate to say "back in my day" all the time but all this new fangled stuff does get me a little confused at times).
Like, I just bought new reduction cards for my old sextant - and then I thought, "what the hull am I doing this for??"
I guess if replacing the radio is the best value I could do that - do you use your AIS a lot?

Nah Nah.... Don't have a DSC or an AIS. Just about to replace the freebie I inherited, that finally fried. If you did celestial - I'm impressed! I never went beyond self teaching/never put into practice that I got from the library in years past, but that's another story.
Either way.... it's boat bucks for this puppy.
Ross

[BOAT]

Back in 1970 when I did the Power Squadron training as a teenager that's all we had - Most of the time we were just shooting the Sun or the Moon and real accurate plots were not that big a deal but there were instances we needed really good plots because night travel to an island would necessitate a star shot and could start some pretty good arguments between me and my Dad. I think now you can get a plastic sextant for 50 bucks that will do everything my old 800 dollar Plath will do except magnify stars. I have not even got it re-certified because I never use it anymore.

In the Power Squadron they used to make us have 'Log Races' that were more about navigation and ETA than anything else. Hated it.

I suppose I could buy a new VHF - just checked with the FCC and they said I can use the same MMSI on two different radios as long as both radios were on the same boat.

Go figure - my current DSC set is brand new - that sucks.

So, what do you guys say? Buy a new AIS VHF radio for 399 or install an AIS receiver for what I figure would be AT LEAST 200 bucks?? Man, that's a tuff one.

[kadet]

According to it's specs that VHF radio only outputs NMEA 0183 so save yourself about half the cost of that VHF Radio and get a Digital Yacht AIS100 receiver and wire it direct to your plotter through it's NMEA 0183 port.

[mastreb]

Mostly complete PDF chart showing NMEA 2000 compatible AIS receivers (and they're varying levels of compatibility):

http://www.panbo.com/archives/2012/06/a ... sheet.html

As far as I can tell, the cheapest AIS NMEA 2000 transceiver is $600. (http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... tId=795855

Consider this VHF radio with an AIS receiver and NMEA 2000 output:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... Id=1256563

It's by FAR the best deal on an NMEA 2000 compatible receiver (does not transmit your position) that I've seen. The SimRAD RS35 is a close cousin http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... r=14077994
with an optional wireless remote mike
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... r=14078000
Matt

[Crikey]

Mostly complete PDF chart showing NMEA 2000 compatible AIS receivers (and they're varying levels of compatibility):

http://www.panbo.com/archives/2012/06/a ... sheet.html

As far as I can tell, the cheapest AIS NMEA 2000 transceiver is $600. (http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... tId=795855

Consider this VHF radio with an AIS receiver and NMEA 2000 output:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... Id=1256563

It's by FAR the best deal on an NMEA 2000 compatible receiver (does not transmit your position) that I've seen. The SimRAD RS35 is a close cousin http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... r=14077994
with an optional wireless remote mike
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... r=14078000
Matt

Gee thanks Matt! You just cost me six hundred bucks!
The waterproof remote cinched it...
R.

[BOAT]

Yup Matt, looks like I have a electronics trap I have stepped in once again:

My current VHF radio (Uniden UM380) does not have an AIS receiver. It only has the DSC that only plots people you are talking to who also have DSC.

So, I COULD put an AIS100 in the system (that's sort of what I wanted to do) and it's not too bad at 160 bucks, BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

The AIS100 needs an antenna! So do I really want more spikes in the air? yet another "thing" to work around? No. But it's all okay because the AIS100 can use my existing VHF whip, GREAT! Nope again.

If I hook up the AIS to the whip I got no VHF radio now, so there is another answer: BUY an antenna splitter for ANOTHER 180 bucks!!

Great! Now I got an AIS100 for 160 and a Splitter for 180 and I have spent 340 before I even have any cables!!! The AIS radio YOU recommended is only 349, and no cables needed.

Sigh, I guess I will be buying a brand new VHF AIS set to replace my BRAND NEW VHF DSC set. Dave and Crikey are right - I'm pretty stupid. I should NOT have had the radio installed at the factory.

[mastreb]

I'm going to get the SIMRAD with the remote as well. That's just too much functionality in one radio to pass up.

BOAT, On the plus side, you've got antenna and power already run to a location

The RS-35/HS-35 combo includes a wireless intercom feature as well, which will allow the helm to talk to the bow during anchoring operations. That's the real clencher.

[macr]

The AIS Android App for $9.99 looks interesting

http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Pocket-B ... ndroid+app

[BOAT]

Ha , funny - yeah I have seen those iphone AIS deals - I have a few of them - they are not really very good - they show like less than 5% of the traffic and even of those 90% of the positioning is inaccurate - it's because it's all web based stuff with a lot of latency and processing delay - you could die trying to use it for navigation. You need a fast internet connection, which is not too much of a problem, but still, I would not trust it.

[kadet]

Great! Now I got an AIS100 for 160 and a Splitter for 180 and I have spent 340 before I even have any cables!!! The AIS radio YOU recommended is only 349, and no cables needed.

You don't need an amplifier splitter for that set up, a $20 splitter would be all you need, you also will need the NMEA 2000 T and Drop cable to connect the radio to your plotter.

Must admit if I was in the market for a new radio that Simrad is nice and would be at the top of the list

Sell your old radio on fleebay and recoup some of you outlay

[BOAT]

That's a thought - fleebay - never sold anything before.

[JohnCFI]

Research thoroughly the connections needed between Radio and Chart-plotter, some need two inputs a low speed and a high speed to display AIS on the plotter. I found this with my Standard Horizon 2100 and Garmin GPSMAP451S. Fortunately I fell on the OK side