It was then I realized how important it was for those big ships to see me also! That is until I got caught in a zero-vis squall a few miles off the coast of South Florida. I was not able to see vessels on my Garmin 440. Then I realized I could send the AIS data to my chart plotter. Undaunted, and trying not to spend any more money, I went back and read the manuals again. For those of us past 55, it is rather challenging to read the bullseye display and then vessel information off a 1-inch display, especially when a sea is running Getting AIS to the chart Plotter Then I went sailing.Ī few days later the seas were just 4-6 feet and a new issue arose. Sitting at the dock this looked pretty good. Now I had the same info on deck, still on a one-inch screen. Sitting at the dock, it was apparent that nav data below decks was useless. Once that was fixed, the radio presented targets on its 1-inch display below decks. You have to match the baud rate of both devices for communication to occur. My first lesson learned is that there are two different communication (baud) rates for NMEA 0183. Radio installed, I connected the radio input to the Garmin output and-nothing. All it needed was a GPS input and it would receive AIS targets. After a month or so of researching radios, I settled on the Standard Horizon GX-2150. The ability to call for an opening of the inlet bridge was critical. Sailing out of Hillsboro Inlet, I needed a radio that worked effectively every time. A Raymarine legacy autopilot that died 2-3 years after I purchased the boat.Garmin 400 series chartplotter, that spoke NMEA 0183.Raymarine depth and speed that spoke SeaTalk-1.Lets start with what electronics you might find on an older boat. Investing time now to inventory and plan can save you a lot of money, as well as make your boat safer and easier to use. Or worse, instead of buying that $149 radio, you buy the $699 - assuming it will be even better. The grumpy old sailor reaction is I don’t need that fancy stuff – just give me a radio. Whatever piece of electronics you are looking at upgrading or adding, it is worth the time to look at all your electronics and how they communicate, or don’t communicate. The vesper AIS XB – 8000 smartAIS Transponder with Wifi and NMEA 2000 Gateway simplifies the sharing of AIS data to various onboard components – both wirelessly and through hard-wired cables. Likewise upgrading safety by adding an AIS, WiFi, and a display at the navigation station can be done with less expense, if you do a little homework. With some careful planning, buying a new piece of electronics doesn’t mean you have to scrap a few thousand dollars of equipment. But the idea of having one new piece of electronics that did not communicate with everything else made the purchase somewhat wasteful. We have all stared longingly at the sales flyers that advertise the latest must have piece of electronics. It is proven to work on my 39-year-old personal boat and parts of this process has been used on boats I have delivered for my customers. This article will discuss how to get various brands of electronics that use different communication protocols to work together seamlessly. Over the years, Practical Sailor has done many articles analyzing VHF radios, chart plotters, etc.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |