Thank You all, for the precious information put here. I had browsed
all of them and I am now impressed on the already many software and
equipment designed to support AIS in the leisure boat market.

At the begin my focus was only on the GpsMap276C NMEA interface with
the ICOM ICM-602 VHF/DSC radio for position report, but now I think
that AIS is the future, and the probably, would be the next wave of
electronics for small boats, since it is based on gps and is more
cheap and less hungry on 12V power than a traditional radar.

I was very impressed on the Freeware software SeaClear, wich already
has AIS support: I had just downloaded and installed it, but I
think it could be one of the best softwares I have tried, mainly in
the NMEA processing functions wich are exceeding and very good. The
SeaPro is fantastic, and I compare it only with MaxSea.

Thinking in small sailboats boats only, an integrated solution
using a VHF/DSC radio (similar of ICM602) having all AIS channels
frequency receiver allowing it to receive the AIS messages , talking
over NMEA In/Out with a Gps/Chart Plotter (similar to a GpsMap276C)
could be a more affordable solution and perhaps can be available not
so long in the future, I hope.

Thank You all again an best regards

Pascal Goncalves

"Pascal Goncalves" wrote in message
om...
Thank You all, for the precious information put here. I had browsed
all of them and I am now impressed on the already many software and
equipment designed to support AIS in the leisure boat market.

At the begin my focus was only on the GpsMap276C NMEA interface with
the ICOM ICM-602 VHF/DSC radio for position report, but now I think
that AIS is the future, and the probably, would be the next wave of
electronics for small boats, since it is based on gps and is more
cheap and less hungry on 12V power than a traditional radar.

I was very impressed on the Freeware software SeaClear, wich already
has AIS support: I had just downloaded and installed it, but I
think it could be one of the best softwares I have tried, mainly in
the NMEA processing functions wich are exceeding and very good. The
SeaPro is fantastic, and I compare it only with MaxSea.

Thinking in small sailboats boats only, an integrated solution
using a VHF/DSC radio (similar of ICM602) having all AIS channels
frequency receiver allowing it to receive the AIS messages , talking
over NMEA In/Out with a Gps/Chart Plotter (similar to a GpsMap276C)
could be a more affordable solution and perhaps can be available not
so long in the future, I hope.

Thank You all again an best regards

Pascal Goncalves

The need for radar and AIS or GPS are independent. There will never be any
such system that allows one to proceed without radar...that is if one wishes
to be reasonably safe. Such systems complement but do not replace each
other.

Jim Donohue

" The need for radar and AIS or GPS are independent. There will never be
any
such system that allows one to proceed without radar...that is if one
wishes to be reasonably safe. Such systems complement but do not replace
each other.

Jim Donohue

The vast majority of small craft do not carry radar, but do have vhf and
gps; so I can see that the addition of a cheap AIS receiver would complement
the system very well.

Crossing very busy shipping lanes, such as the English Channel, would be
much safer if AIS positions were displayed. It would not be infallible but a
considerable improvement.

Regards
Jeff

Jeff wrote:
The vast majority of small craft do not carry radar, but do have vhf
and gps; so I can see that the addition of a cheap AIS receiver would
complement the system very well.

Shipplotter works very well.
www.shipplotter.com

JK escreveu:
Jeff wrote:
The vast majority of small craft do not carry radar, but do have
vhf
and gps; so I can see that the addition of a cheap AIS receiver
would
complement the system very well.

Shipplotter works very well.
www.shipplotter.com


I agree with you 100%. After reading the several information about AIS,
including the already available hardware (cheap AIS receivers) and
softwares (including several very cheap and/or free) I am thinking that
the recently introduced DSC function of the newest Garmin marine gps
models like the Map276C/Map3006/Map3010 will be or are already totally
obsoleted, because AIS is and will be the standard, as it is many more
times usefull. I hope Garmin wakeup fast to change that obsolete DSC
function in a more advanced and usefull AIS function, in these gps
models.

" I agree with you 100%. After reading the several information about AIS,
including the already available hardware (cheap AIS receivers) and
softwares (including several very cheap and/or free) I am thinking that
the recently introduced DSC function of the newest Garmin marine gps
models like the Map276C/Map3006/Map3010 will be or are already totally
obsoleted, because AIS is and will be the standard, as it is many more
times usefull. I hope Garmin wakeup fast to change that obsolete DSC
function in a more advanced and usefull AIS function, in these gps
models.


DSC will not be obsolete, it performs a completely different function to
AIS; that of alerting other stations of DISTRESS and calling specific
stations. Routine position reports are not sent by DSC, its name, Digital
selective Calling really says it all.

As far as being obsolete on gps receivers; would you not like the position
of a vessel in distress shown on your electronic chart?

Adding the position of vessels transmitting AIS positions would be a huge
advantage, but really you need both functions.

I doubt if AIS will ever replace DSC for calling distress working, those
functions are not included in the protocol, and the channel occupancy can be
too high for reliable distress working; not to mention that DSC is used not
only on VHF, but MF and HF as well.


Regards
Jeff

In article uizee.10841$fI.3803@fed1read05,
"Jim Donohue" wrote:

The need for radar and AIS or GPS are independent. There will never be any
such system that allows one to proceed without radar...that is if one wishes
to be reasonably safe. Such systems complement but do not replace each
other.

Jim Donohue

In this day and age of GPS, AIS, and modern Marine Electronics,
Radar is used to keep you from bumping into things that move around
and do not advertise themselves in any other electronic way. It isn't
used for position fixing like it was back 40 years ago, that is now done
with GPS, or Loran C. Radar tells you where the logs and other hazards
are, with one of those hazards being vessels that are operating with
Radar.

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @

Bruce in Alaska wrote in news:bruceg-
:

Radar tells you where the logs and other hazards
are

Note to radar ops....

Radar doesn't see those 40 foot diameter by 20 foot wide wooden cable reels
floating around the Atlantic, like the one that floated by during
breakfast-in-the-cockpit. As it floated by I started trying to track it on
a Raymarine 2KW radar with the dome up 25' on a stern mast. NO-GO! Not a
single return from 100' away from the boat out to a mile....NADA.

The radar was working because I could see a bouy about 3 miles away....

Wooden boxes and reels sent to sea on ships need to have FOIL stapled to
them as a safety measure. There was no cable on the reel...just the wooden
reel.

I shudder to think what would have happened if we'd hit that damned thing
the night before in pitch black at 8 knots pitching in the waves.....

Thank You all,

We here (Salvador/BA-Brazil) are trying to understand a bit more about
AIS. I have instaled the Sea Clear free program and I was surprised to
see that it is a very good program, suporting AIS and using the
G7ToWin for download/upload, can use BSB and scanned charts (we have
the OziExplorer from many years).

A friend here had instaled the Ship Plotter demo software and made a
test with his Icom Ham Radio and it worked very well: he gets about 20
ships here in Salvador/BA using a VHF antena instaled in the roof of
his apartment building (very high) and plotted ships up to 20 nm from
his home.

The Ship Plotter sends information to Ozi (we do not know how)
wich displays the ships as Map Features. We are having trouble in
making it works with a standard marine VHF reciever, so he is buying a
NASA black box Receiver for his boat and will use it with his laptop
and Sea Clear.

In my turn, I have a laptop too, with several othres navigation
softwares but I think that it is a cumbersome thing in my boat, so I am
waiting that Garmin unveils soon the AIS function for my GpsMap276C, or
I will buy the NASA stand alone AIS.

If the NASA with display would have a NMEA out interface too, like the
black box model, so I could use it as well with the laptop too, I
would have already buy it now.

In another forum (discution list) someone made the folowing coment to
my entry:

" Then I think you schould start reading again."
"All DCS capable Garmin receivers are also AIS capable.
DCS is still the most wideley spread system, and AIS does not add
anything to Garmin GPS receivers over the DCS system."
"You can easely combine a Garmin with DCS with a AIS reciever since the

data send to the (external) gps is exactly the same."


This make me think that, maybe Garmin is developing the 3006/3010/276C
software for AIS support and the Garmin Network could receive another
Garmin "sensor" member: a black box AIS receiver wich could be a AIS
receiver only (GAR20?) for the poor and a AIS receiver/transponder
(GAR40?) for the rich.

Off course, this is my pure speculation, and dream ...

Regards

Pascal
S 13 00/W 038 27

On 13 May 2005 17:29:21 -0700, "Pascal" wrote:

In my turn, I have a laptop too, with several othres navigation
softwares but I think that it is a cumbersome thing in my boat, so I am
waiting that Garmin unveils soon the AIS function for my GpsMap276C, or
I will buy the NASA stand alone AIS.

Personally I doubt that you will see AIS for the 276C. Where I live there are
often hundreds of vessels within AIS range, so we are talking a few updates
per second - I don't think the 276C processor could keep up with that.

In fact some dedicated AIS units can't keep up with it! I was on a ship in
Singapore last year & the captain showed me that on his AIS transceiver (Saab
I think), if he expanded the scale to 25nm the whole transceiver would reboot
as it tried to draw all the vessels in range & crashed.

Dave

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