I am thinking of adding the Smart Radio SR161 AIS receiver to the
electronics on the boat. I would use the unit to connect via a serial cable
to a PC with the appropriate charting software, e.g. SeaClear II or Rose
Point.

It would interface with the NMEA output from the Raymarine 300 SDGPS. Has
anyone tried this? does it work reliably? (it is manufactured in China so it
is probably not the greatest)

The product description on the U.S. dealer's website
http://www.milltechmarine.com/ makes this statement "Can an be used to
consolidate incoming NMEA positional data from a GPS into a combined
high-speed data stream on a single serial port." - I wonder how is this
accomplished. Can the single RS232 serial port be "split" with one cable
going to the Raymarine and one to the PC??

I would use the existing VHF antenna on the boat - it is hooked up to a
Shipmate RS8400 VHF radio. I don't know if the antenna is "maximized" to 162
Mhz" as required by the SR 161 AIS receiver... any comments on this would
also be helpful.

Thanks in advance

cvj

"claus" wrote in
:

I would use the existing VHF antenna on the boat - it is hooked up to
a Shipmate RS8400 VHF radio. I don't know if the antenna is
"maximized" to 162 Mhz" as required by the SR 161 AIS receiver... any
comments on this would also be helpful.



The antenna is fine but be informed you CANNOT use both AIS and the VHF
simultaneously as the transmitter in the Shipmate will simply destroy
anything but the antenna hooked to it.....

Get it its own antenna as far away from the Shipmate's antenna as is
possible....



--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.

Right you are, Larry.

The same company sells the "Smart Radioo VHF Antenna Splitter". So I would
have to add this to the equipment as well.....
"
Smart Radio VHF Antenna Splitter
The Smart Radio VHF Antenna Splitter allows you to safely share a single
antenna between an AIS receiver and a VHF radio that is used for both
receiving and transmitting. This active splitter will isolate the antenna
connection to the AIS receiver if a transmission from the VHF radio is
detected on the same antenna.

This is a great solution for situations where it is not possible to have a
dedicated VHF antenna for the AIS receiver. It is also a good solution for
sailing vessels that only have one VHF antenna mounted at the top of the
mast.

This splitter is very easy to install and use. One input connection is made
to the antenna cable. An output connection plugs directly into the BNC
antenna port on the AIS receiver. Another output connection plugs into a
cable to the VHF radio. The last connection is to a 12v DC power source
which powers the active VHF splitter. Simply turn the power on and use your
VHF radio and AIS receiver"

On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:18:45 -0700, "claus"
wrote:

I am thinking of adding the Smart Radio SR161 AIS receiver to the
electronics on the boat. I would use the unit to connect via a serial cable
to a PC with the appropriate charting software, e.g. SeaClear II or Rose
Point.

It would interface with the NMEA output from the Raymarine 300 SDGPS. Has
anyone tried this? does it work reliably? (it is manufactured in China so it
is probably not the greatest)

The product description on the U.S. dealer's website
http://www.milltechmarine.com/ makes this statement "Can an be used to
consolidate incoming NMEA positional data from a GPS into a combined
high-speed data stream on a single serial port." - I wonder how is this
accomplished. Can the single RS232 serial port be "split" with one cable
going to the Raymarine and one to the PC??

The SR161 outputs AIS data at 38,400 baud. It accepts NMEA-0183 data
from GPS and other sources at the normal 4800 baud, and will output
that data at 38,400, mixed with the AIS data. No need to split any
cables, but the AIS receiver must be left on whenever you are using
Raymarine-AIS-computer connection.








--
Peter Bennett VE7CEI
email: peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
GPS and NMEA info and programs: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter/index.html
Newsgroup new user info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq

"claus" wrote in
:

The same company sells the "Smart Radioo VHF Antenna Splitter". So I
would have to add this to the equipment as well.....
"


OK, I just didn't want you to do what I see so many do with other radio
gear.....go to Radio shack and get a T connector....Zap!....(c;



--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.

Thanks for the good advice, following which I spent a few hours today trying
the "trial" versions of different software packages that support AIS.

For my taste, the winner - hands down - was the Coastal Explorer from Rose
Point. I was able to see the AIS feature in action using a link posted on
the web to a live stream from an SR162 receiver located in Elliott Bay (my
home port) in Seattle telnet://boat.milltechmarine.com:20175

Very impressive. Now all I have to do is figure out if I really should spend
$499 for the Coastal Eaxplorer and SR161 bundle plus an additional $119. for
the Smart Radio VHF Antenna Splitter - wifey does not seem to be totally
convinced about the neccessity for the upgrade :-()

Cheers!




"Peter Bennett" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:18:45 -0700, "claus"
wrote:

I am thinking of adding the Smart Radio SR161 AIS receiver to the
electronics on the boat. I would use the unit to connect via a serial
cable
to a PC with the appropriate charting software, e.g. SeaClear II or Rose
Point.

It would interface with the NMEA output from the Raymarine 300 SDGPS. Has
anyone tried this? does it work reliably? (it is manufactured in China so
it
is probably not the greatest)

The product description on the U.S. dealer's website
http://www.milltechmarine.com/ makes this statement "Can an be used to
consolidate incoming NMEA positional data from a GPS into a combined
high-speed data stream on a single serial port." - I wonder how is this
accomplished. Can the single RS232 serial port be "split" with one cable
going to the Raymarine and one to the PC??

The SR161 outputs AIS data at 38,400 baud. It accepts NMEA-0183 data
from GPS and other sources at the normal 4800 baud, and will output
that data at 38,400, mixed with the AIS data. No need to split any
cables, but the AIS receiver must be left on whenever you are using
Raymarine-AIS-computer connection.








--
Peter Bennett VE7CEI
email: peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
GPS and NMEA info and programs:
http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter/index.html
Newsgroup new user info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq