" wrote in news:d88f5712-bcf7-4aba-
:

What does A do that B doesn't?
http://www.panbo.com/archives/cat_ais.html
Panbo has an excellent handle on current AIS tendencies to answer your
question.


But, if you're very adventurous, the FCC can addle your brain in minutes:
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_publi...-07-2597A1.txt

And, of course, you ALREADY have a copy of:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/w...7cfr80_07.html
as required by your Ship Station License.....right?
.....and you've read it all, carefully, and are in full compliance, as
required by law with heavy penalties.....right?


To see lots of the political wrangling and foot dragging going on,
including the little problem of the FCC bureaucrats ALREADY selling one
of the AIS channels to Maritel Communications they shouldn't have, look
on this list:
http://search2.fcc.gov/search/index.htm?
job=search&site=fcc_all&q=AIS&Submit+search+reques t.x=0
&Submit+search+request.y=0&Submit+search+request=S ubmit

or better yet:
http://tinyurl.com/5noy3x

The political nonsense involved didn't help the Capt Joe's survival,
which was credited, partially, by her AIS transmissions even before the
crew called for a Mayday. Panbo quotes APA.com saying:

"“The fishermen had an ‘automated identification system transponder’
aboard their boat. While that transponder system sunk with the Captain
Joe, the signals it gave out before the vessel went down helped the
rescue crews find the boat's last position.” We don’t normally think of
AIS being used that way, and I don’t know the details, but I can easily
imagine how the rescue center could use some sort of Internet based AIS
tracking system, or maybe their own receivers, to get good position data
before the fishermen even fired off their EPIRB.
For me, this news was ironic on several levels. Just last week I
learned that Class B AIS isn’t even on the FCC’s March 19 agenda, meaning
that this Capt. Joe type rescue aid remains unavailable for most boaters.
(However, I also heard that at least one commissioner has already signed
the ruling—a meeting isn’t even necessary—so maybe this FCC travesty will
actually end soon.) Second, before hearing about Capt. Joe (thanks,
Jim!), I was already into an amazing book called Dead Men Tapping, and
hardly slept last night plowing towards it inevitable conclusion. The
book is not only an excellent profile of New England fishermen and
salvors, but also a wrenching tale of what can happen out there, and
hence why Class B AIS could be such a valuable collision avoidance tool.
(One reason the USCG wants reasonable-cost Class B expedited is so that
it can mandate them on commercial fishing boats.) But the book is also a
stinging indictment of the Coast Guard’s failure to perform well in this
and several other somewhat unusual rescue situations. I’d like to think
they learned something from author Kate Yeomans fine work. But whether
that’s true or not, you’ll likely approach disasters at sea a little
differently once you’ve read Dead Men Tapping."

.....once again showing the multi-bureaucratic bungling between CG and FCC
and other Federal bureaucrats and we STILL don't have an AIS transponder
for your boat, whether the big ships like it or not....