AIS is very cool

[Tim R.]

I was messing around with my AIS transponder(Amec Comino 101) this morning and wanted to test the changes I had made. Unfortunately, there were no transmitting base stations active in Portland at the time. If you do not already know, AIS is a boat to boat transmission using VHF frequencies. I can see all the boats(transmitting AIS) around me and they can see me but we are not visible to Marinetraffic.com because none of us are acting as a base station uploading our data to a reporting station like marinetraffic.com.

So I downloaded some base station software, installed and configured it on my laptop which is connected to my active AIS transponder.

Goto marinetraffic.com and select Portland Me as your port. Everything you see on that screen is being transmitted from my boat via AIS transponder connected via serial port to my laptop which is connected to the internet via Verizon Mifi.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100#

 

[dscribner]

Tim,

That's pretty cool, but where are YOU in this? I looked for Aeolus but can't find you anyplace. Are you listed as a base or something?

Don

 

[Maine Sail]

Tim,

That's pretty cool, but where are YOU in this? I looked for Aeolus but can't find you anyplace. Are you listed as a base or something?

Don

Look for Carina. She's right there at Dimillo's...

 

[Tim R.]

Hey Don. My boat has been renamed to Carina.

And I meant to post this to all sailors but must have clicked on the wrong button by mistake.

Mainesail, can you move over to All Sailors?

 

[Papa Bruce]

Very neat! I have family in Portland and the past couple years I have threatened them to look you up. We had dinner at DiMillos, the brazilian steakhouse, and went to the comedy club in July when we were up there. My bride grew up in Bridgton. I'll bug you next summer when we get there.

 

[Dave602]

The AIS also has an app for the smart phone

 

[geoffschultz]

What software did you download/install?

 

[CrawJac]

That is the coolest thing I have seen this week!

I was able to look up the container ships going up and down the Savannah river. I will be using this tool in the future.

 

[Tim R.]

What software did you download/install?

Geoff, I used AIS Dispatcher. It is a much better interface and easier to setup and than the AIS Logger. See the link below for more info.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/addyourarea.aspx?level1=150

 

[Tim R.]

BTW, this is a free service from the University of the Aegean.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about AIS and improving it's capabilities should register for a free account here.

Check out the "Cover your area" tab to find out more.

 

[All U Get]

Hi Tim,
There's a way to enter destinations while traveling, do you know how that is set up?
All U Get

 

[Seattle Scott]

thats pretty cool. I checked out "Seattle" and the coverage goes all the way to Canada border ( where my internet stops anyway since its too expensive to get a short term Canadian plan )

 

[Tim R.]

Hi Tim,
There's a way to enter destinations while traveling, do you know how that is set up?
All U Get

I am not sure. Check out the FAQ page. I think it covers that.

 

[Jimm]

What software did you download/install?

Here's the link for mobile apps ..... I have it on my Droid, works great!
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/m/services.aspx

 

[Tim R.]

One note of caution. Marine Traffic only shows vessels if there is an active base station. If not, you do not see them so obviously this cannot be used for navigation.

 

[Maine Sail]

One note of caution. Marine Traffic only shows vessels if there is an active base station. If not, you do not see them so obviously this cannot be used for navigation.

Just like how in the fog off White Head we could not see the tug towing a barge on the phone app, but we could see it on radar and AIS.... Do you need to be running the computer all the time in order to be a base station or did the application boot into the AIS??

 

[geoffschultz]

Do you need to be running the computer all the time in order to be a base station or did the application boot into the AIS??

According to what I read on the link for AIS Dispatcher, there are several AIS receivers which have Ethernet interfaces which can plug directly into a router, thus not requiring that the computer be running all of the time. If you don't have one of these receivers, then yes, the computer would need to be running.

I personally look at this as "for information only" and "not to be used for navigation." You have no idea if the logging system is functioning properly or if their receiver can receive the AIS transmission of vessels in your area. It's a beautiful toy, but I would never use it to navigate by, especially if I had AIS on board.

-- Geoff

 

[Tim R.]

For my unit, I need to have the computer on and connected to the internet. It is not my intention to leave it on permanently. Just cool to see what is possible.

 

[All U Get]

While traveling through the Cape Cod Canal mine would let me know if there was traffic ahead. Sometimes it would be large commercial vessels, sometimes just a sports-fisher. Someday I'll actually figure out how mine is working.
All U Get