Boat Beacon app
I am having a lot of fun with this app.
An alternative option to purchasing an AIS receiver.

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Bundeenabuoy said..
Boat Beacon app
I am having a lot of fun with this app.
An alternative option to purchasing an AIS receiver.

But don't need to be in phone range as it does not work vessel to vessel directly.

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Bundeenabuoy said..
Boat Beacon app
I am having a lot of fun with this app.
An alternative option to purchasing an AIS receiver.

This app is instantly available on Android (Samsung Galaxy Tablet) and you can overlay it on Navionics. its portable so you can use at home plus no installation which is necessary with a AIS receiver. The cost is $25 compared with many hundreds for the AIS receiver.
The limitations are some time delay and you must be able to receive a phone signal.

Last part is the problem.
So it not really an AIS system but an internet game.
Sorry.
Take Moreton Bay for instance, there is not phone coverage from one side all the way to the other.

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lydia said..
Last part is the problem.
So it not really an AIS system but an internet game.
Sorry.
Take Moreton Bay for instance, there is not phone coverage from one side all the way to the other.

Yes it is a problem in some areas but it suits me at the moment. Looking at the alternatives. I am not happy paying around $350 per year for a Navionics card so am a bit hesitant to go down the BandG chartplotter road for the third time, but this is a slightly different issue. The portability of the tablet is appealing. I see Icom have a VHF radio with AIS that is compatible with android but not wireless.

I have a Standard VHF GX2200 and use a Windows 10 computer, Lenovo ThinkCentre with OpenCPN. The radio was about $750 and all up my nav station cost less than a thousand dollars. I have all the charts.

www.standardhorizon.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=83&encProdID=27C38D916BB23B1B8A53F18ED6C711B7&DivisionID=3

As all phones and tablets these days have a built in GPS why not get hold of some CM93 charts put them in on a flash card and have an AIS receiver that doesn't require a phone signal.

The time I loved my AIS reciever was out in Bass Strait and also south of Eden at 1am, and so for me, and this is my opinion only, I would recommend a proper receiver if you venture far. Once you start getting that feeling of security from Open CPN showing possible collision tracks, you become a believer and any money spent is a non issue.

I bought the Daisy. It cost me about $60 but is more now. Coupled to Open CPN (which is free but the charts are about $70) I have a nice system for under $200 (not including the laptop - but I have a spare laptop which is too slow for work but fine for the boat)

www.tindie.com/products/astuder/daisy-2-dual-channel-ais-receiver-with-nmea-0183/

Good and cheap for offshore. My friend uses the app and gets quite good coverage along the coast. It is a good thing to have coast sailing along NSW but would be a bit sketchy in Queensland where mobiles aren't so well covered.

+1 for the dAISy, which I have wired to a TwinYakker, which sends wifi AIS and GPS data to a cheap netbook running OpenCPN/CM93. This gives me a perfectly adequate cheapo setup for my jaunts in PPB and Bass Strait.

Even in PortPhillip there are substantial stretches with no 3G/4G signal. But having said that, I clocked a mate via his BoatBeacon on my AIS display when we were both out near Deal Island - I guess he was in a lucky mobile "hotspot". But you wouldn't want to bet your life on it.

Quark Electronics make a range of various combinations of AIS/GPS/NMEA/Wifi muxers. They get good reviews these days, but I had an awful experience when I bought one about 5 years ago. After many emails and attempted fixes I returned it, extremely p#^$*d off at their incompetence and lousy attitude. Perhaps they're good now, but back then......... By contrast the dAISy and TwinYakker were truly plug and play.

Regarding CM93 charts, my neighbour's gardener's cousin's son says some creative googling might find you a free download source. Something I would never dream of doing myself. Try Cruisers Forum.

Cheers Graeme

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wongaga said..
+1 for the dAISy,

Regarding CM93 charts, my neighbour's gardener's cousin's son says some creative googling might find you a free download source. Something I would never dream of doing myself. Try Cruisers Forum.

Cheers Graeme

+2 for dAISy - mine runs on my Raymarine plotter.

I can't remember where I got my CM93 Charts, but I didn't pay for them - think it was from Cruisers Forum!!

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Lazzz said..

I can't remember where I got my CM93 Charts, but I didn't pay for them - think it was from Cruisers Forum!!

Said stranger told me there was a dropbox download for CM93, but that it doesn't work any more hence the need to go searching.

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Bundeenabuoy said..

Yes it is a problem in some areas but it suits me at the moment. Looking at the alternatives. I am not happy paying around $350 per year for a Navionics card so am a bit hesitant to go down the BandG chartplotter road for the third time, but this is a slightly different issue. The portability of the tablet is appealing. I see Icom have a VHF radio with AIS that is compatible with android but not wireless.

The Standard GX2200 VHF radio is not wireless either and you have to hunt about for the USB lead to connect the GPS and AIS to the plotter. If you have to buy a new VHF anyway then one of these combo systems will save you buying a GPS puck and a Daisy anyway. I'm not a fan of tablets and any other touch screen gismos that are totally useless with wet fingers.

Has anyone tried an RTL-SDR setup directly into their Raspberry Pi? Seems like an even lower-cost way to get AIS data in.

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Woylie said..
Has anyone tried an RTL-SDR setup directly into their Raspberry Pi? Seems like an even lower-cost way to get AIS data in.

Yeah, I had it for a while but value for money you cannot go past the dAISy.

I still have it ready to plug back in if need be.

You can see it unplugged, along with the NMEA0183, in the pic. I don't throw much away - could come in handy one day!!

I honestly cannot remember how good it was because it was years ago but a lot of people are using this RTL-SDR setup.
More info here: openplotter.readthedocs.io/en/latest/sdr-vhf/ais.html#

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Lazzz said..

Woylie said..
Has anyone tried an RTL-SDR setup directly into their Raspberry Pi? Seems like an even lower-cost way to get AIS data in.

Yeah, I had it for a while but value for money you cannot go past the dAISy.

I still have it ready to plug back in if need be.

You can see it unplugged, along with the NMEA0183, in the pic. I don't throw much away - could come in handy one day!!

I honestly cannot remember how good it was because it was years ago but a lot of people are using this RTL-SDR setup.
More info here: openplotter.readthedocs.io/en/latest/sdr-vhf/ais.html#

That electrical compartment is so neat Lazz. The labels everywhere appeal enormously. Maybe I have OCD.

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shaggybaxter said..

That electrical compartment is so neat Lazz. The labels everywhere appeal enormously. Maybe I have OCD.

It actually needs a good tidy up - I keep adding stuff & am running out of room.

Things are labeled because I can't remember things these days!!

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Bundeenabuoy said..

lydia said..
Last part is the problem.
So it not really an AIS system but an internet game.
Sorry.
Take Moreton Bay for instance, there is not phone coverage from one side all the way to the other.

Yes it is a problem in some areas but it suits me at the moment. Looking at the alternatives. I am not happy paying around $350 per year for a Navionics card so am a bit hesitant to go down the BandG chartplotter road for the third time, but this is a slightly different issue. The portability of the tablet is appealing. I see Icom have a VHF radio with AIS that is compatible with android but not wireless.

This is a wireless solution giving portability around the boat, plus other tablet benefits.