AIS Which ones do you use?

[BonesD]

Howdy, today’s question is about AIS.
I know I don’t have to have one, only a 39’ boat.
I want one to give myself every advantage out on the water I can get. I can’t buy personal experience so electronics are on the shopping list.
I was looking at the Vesper xb-6000 and xb-8000. The 8000 has Wi Fi but I don’t know why I need it? It has a lot of great functions and is compatible with my Coastal Explorer program and uses the existing vhf antenna with the purchase of a pricy splitter.
The xb-6000 does not have wi-fi and I’m not sure about all the functions. It comes with a GPS antenna. I wonder if I couldn’t share the existing GPS antenna though as I am already doing that with my nav program?
Anyone have these units?
Thanks

 

[Airstream345]

We have the Vesper 8000 which is integrated into our Furuno systems via NMEA 0183 and Coastal Explorer (via ethernet). The only time I've used the WiFi feature was to update the firmware (now their recommended way to update).

I'm a fan of wired connections that eliminate points of failure when it comes to critical systems like nav.

I'll say Coast Explorer is amazing when you have AIS info coming in. It gives you remarkable situational awareness especially in busy ports/shipping lanes.

 

[Comodave]

We have all Raymarine electronics so I went with the Raymarine AIS too. It is certainly helpful in some circumstances to have AIS. We were crossing Lake Ontario in a heavy, heavy downpour with 6’ plus waves coming on the starboard quarter. We were on auto pilot and were slewing quite a bit. The radar was mostly whiteout due to the rain. We saw a 700’ ship on the MFD due to the AIS. It could not be seen on the radar though. It was on a collision course with us. We were stand on so we did. About the time I was reaching for the microphone to call the ship, he called us by name since we showed up on his AIS also. He said he would turn to pass astern of us. We thanked him and proceeded on our course. If we didn’t have AIS, we certainly would not have seen him. Whether he would have seen us without AIS is an unknown. But it was nice to see him with the AIS and be able to negotiate the crossing.

 

[jimdavi]

I have Garmin suite (7600’s) with Garmin AIS 600, which shares one VHF antenna and does not interfere with comms. Alerts display on both radar and navigation map. I would agree in busy areas, I have been surprised many times by alerts to ferries etc, coming from behind and receive an alert. I like the integration on both radar and maps. I can tap on the item on either map or radar, get info etc.

 

[RCook]

We have the Vesper XB-6000. USB connection to the Coastal Explorer laptop. Works great, and great customer support.

Installed the external GPS antenna, even though we have other GPS sources. And a separate AIS antenna, even though we have other VHF anntennae.

 

[Woodland Hills]

I have a vesper 8000 and I connect my navigation iPads to its WiFi to use the Vesper gps. That way you don’t need to buy another separate gps unit or pay big bucks for a top of the line iPad with built-in gps. The Vesper gps is also more accurate than the one in the iPads IMHO.

 

[Ken E.]

I have a Comnav AIS which is integrated with my Furuno VX2 system. Works fine.

 

[Frosty]

I've just done AIS shopping over the winter. I'm not a "wi-fi" person either, BUT, the wi-fi of the Vesper 8000 allows use of their excellent anchor drag app, and that alone put me to the 8000 over the 6000, as I anchor a lot. There are other stand-alone anchor apps, but the Vesper one appealed to me most.

Another potential nice feature of the Vespers is they can output a number of NMEA 0183 baud rates if you have older things that need it (VHF or speed gauge).

Apparently my new Raymarine Axioms don't have the best GPS antenna (due to it's buried in the unit), so I mentally took $250 off the price of the Vesper because I can use its excellent included antenna to feed my NMEA 2000 network and thus the Axioms (Raymarine aux antenna is $250). You may not have that factor.

The newer standard (SODTMA) is not on either of these units, but you may not care as it's more applicable to fast ferries and the like (or possibly very crowded waters).

Another option suggested to me was the AMEC Widelink B600. This does use SODTMA, and is around the price of the 6000/8000, but I don't believe they have the slick anchoring app.

Vesper's new unit with SODTMA is a fancy/expensive VHF combo so not really in the same ballpark at all.

Upshot for me is I would like the Vesper 8000, but since I can't boat right now am hoping for a little price reduction since it's not SODTMA (which I probably don't need).

My research didn't show me any particular reason to stay "in brand" vis-a-vis my MFDs.

 

[BonesD]

Too much info for a novice. I like the anchor alarm. There is one on my old Furuno GPS but I haven’t had a chance to see if it works. I was able to wire in a USB so I could use the GPS with my navigation software and that works just fine.
The price of the 8000 is pretty steep but the extra $160.00 for the vhf Splitter is harder to swallow!

 

[tozz]

I have a vesper xb-8000 too. I don't use its wifi access point capabilities I just have it as a wifi client my boat network. That way I can use the data on my PC with Coastal Explorer and with my iPads as well while keeping them on the boat network for Internet access.

I also have an ACR Nauticast 2 that I don't use. It was locked up and we couldn't change the MMSI number when we bought the boat. I was finally able to unwedge it a few months ago and so I have it updated now and ready to run if I ever want to use it.

-tozz

 

[cardude01]

This is the AIS that I installed. Has worked well since 2016.


https://www.thegpsstore.com/Si-Tex-MDA-1-Metadata-Class-B-AIS-Transceiver-P3172.aspx

 

[Simi 60]

Matsutec HA102 on aliexpress for about $250usd.
Glomex VHF antenna and cable for about $40 USD on ebay
Easy setup, works a treat

Also has an emergency distress button on it which no others I have looked at have

 

[HenryD]

I have a Si-Tex transceiver and like having send/receive AIS.
If I was shopping for a new unit I would be looking for the newer B+ units.

 

[BonesD]

Thanks

 

[Frosty]

Too much info for a novice.

I'm also an AIS novice. But I think I misunderstood your original post, and so wrote too much information - sorry about that.

 

[BonesD]

Not at all Frosty. Your info is welcome.
Thanks

 

[Pau Hana]

We have an Em-Trak AIS-B installed that has done the job for several years without drama. Em-Trak is now offering a very reasonably priced Class A AIS transceiver for around $800.

 

[firehoser75]

Bones,
I have the Vesper 8000. I have it wired to a laptop running Coastal Explorer, as well as use the WiFi to connect to a couple of IPads running Navionics, and use the built in anchor alarm which I really like. Running the AIS while at anchor uses very little battery power, and the alarm that comes with the unit is quite loud so we can hear it in the forward stateroom at night. For various technical reasons (one of which is backup) I installed a dedicated AIS antenna instead of using the splitter. The unit has worked great, and I am very happy with it even though I currently don't use it to it's full potential like connecting other devices through Nema 0183 or 2000. By the way, it comes with it's own external GPS antenna. I installed mine inside the boat and it works great inside the overhead compartment in the pilothouse.

 

[obthomas]

I have a West Marine Labeled AIS not sure who made it.

Basics as I understand them.:

AIS comes as A or B basically pleasure B and commercial A. difference is how often they update and receive and transmit. Commercial A being more often.

AIS comes as receive only or both receive and transmit.

AIS is required to have its own GPS receiver.

AIS has its own antenna or can split one with a VHF with an approved splitter

AIS can communicate with a chart plotter via NMEA. Apparently WIFI is also available.


In my opinion a AIS transceiver type B with its own GPS and own VHF Antenna communicating with NMEA 2000 is a great choice for most pleasure boaters.

 

[Billr2019]

I upgraded the original Garmin AIS 300 receive only, to a Garmin AIS 800 transponder.
Added separate external antenna.
Boat is a 2016 Ranger Tug R-27.

 

[Jon H]

I have the full Garmin AIS 800 B with its own dedicated antenna.

 

[Billr2019]

Having the separate dedicated antenna made more sense to me than sharing one with the VHF radio or an internal (to the AIS) antenna.

 

[Frosty]

Having the separate dedicated antenna made more sense to me than sharing one with the VHF radio or an internal (to the AIS) antenna.

I'm research-knowledge only at this point but what I understand it that it depends. Two antennae is great IF you can provide proper vertical or horizontal separation (and maybe if they are both in a good place). A couple of examples:

1) Smaller powerboat on which separate antennae would be less than 4' apart and on the same plane. In that case it may be better to have a splitter (you can still have a spare antenna ready to use in case of damage or failure).

2) Tall-masted boat wherein one antenna would be top of mast (great) and second one would be say on taffrail (not so great). This may be okay if you are not looking for best AIS reception (VHF would of course be at top of mast/AIS on taffrail). OTOH with a splitter you can run both AIS/VHF at top of mast and have other antenna as spare.

I notice Vesper's fancy new combo unit even uses an internal splitter.

I started out thinking "no way do I want some cheesy splitter!" After more research I have decided I will probably* run a Vesper splitter but I am also installing the second antenna as a spare. (I fit into category 1 at the moment.) Not saying this is the only or always-best way; but rather just that two antennae better than a splitter may not be a slam dunk.

*I say "probably" because I will double check the situation whenever I can resume boating and boat work. I had made my decision based on boating this spring and summer.

 

[obthomas]

When I got my AIS a splitter was not good or bad. A splitter was simply more expensive than a separate antenna.

 

[Frosty]

When I got my AIS a splitter was not good or bad. A splitter was simply more expensive than a separate antenna.

For me it penciled the opposite.

Vesper splitter: ~$230

Antenna: $185 (Morad 162 MHz AIS antenna)
25' cable: $35
Rail mount antenna mount: ~$40
Total (not including sealant, zip ties, etc.): $260

There are probably cheaper antennae one can buy (which may be just as good). I already have a Morad VHF antenna so going to stay with same brand.

I'm probably going to use the Vesper splitter and mount a spare antenna and cable (in which case probably the Morad in-between 159 MHz antenna that can do both) as a spare. So I'll be in it for both. Boats, what can you say