...AIS does not add another layer of safety....
If it helps you see other vessels, and other vessels to see you....how can that be considered not adding safety ??
That's the equivalent to saying that looking at highway traffic info without you constantly feeding the system is wrong.
Even if all you do us travel back roads, avoid major highways, refuse to call in the once and a great moon big issue, etc...etc...
Please, as a commercial small vessel guy....saying AIS is a good thing is great...saying you are a taker and not a giver is way out of wack with the system the way it is.
My exception may be Western Rivers which I dont have experience in.
I don't understand the comments that receiving without transmitting is selfish. It makes no sense to me. Remember, the majority of boats out there have neither.
I think we are getting into semantics here and what exactly is considered a "layer of safety". I don't think anyone would argue that it doesn't add safety.
I have the Si-Tex MDA 1 Class B Transceiver. New they are just over $500 and can integrate with NMEA 0183 or NMEA 2000. Works nicely with my Garmin chartplotters and tablet with Coastal Explorer.
Some brands seem to have an internal GPS antenna.
..... I don't think anyone would argue that it doesn't add safety......
I think Psneeld would, as he said: "AIS does not add another layer of safety,"
Comparing boat traffic to highway traffic is apples to oranges. Cars on the highway always follow a set route. Boats are continually changing course. Transmitting an AIS signal alerting other AIS-equipped boats of potential situations is one more way I can make my vessel & crew safer.
Another vote for the Garmin AIS 600 if you're already using Garmin MFDs. I have this setup and the nice thing if you stick with Garmin is that when you ever go to update software; you plug in one SD card and it updates all of the Garmin devices on the network.
I definitely love the transceiver. It augments radar and just adds another layer of safety. In NY harbor you will be in a target rich environment and it'll come in handy.
Also as you mention; its very cool that friends & family can track your progress, it is sort of like a real-time float plan if you've ever sent one to someone before a big cruise.
Mine is Vesper XB-8000. Has wi-fi, so can be controlled by mobile device.
Another vote for the Vesper XB-8000.
Mine is connected (via NMEA 2K) to a Garmin MFD. Works flawlessly. Love the WiFi connectivity options it provides. Firmware updates via WiFi from the smart phone app. Anchor alarm and other helpful features built in to the unit and the app. Competitive price. Very good manufacturer support.
There are splitters that let you use an existing VHF antenna. Vesper sells one; read the information on their web site before you go this route. I wanted a separate antenna for the redundancy, and because I didn't want either function to diminish or interfere with the other.
Transievers tell the bad guys where your boat is, I'll never use one.
No law about setup.