I want a simple GPS to mount in my cockpit, and the Garmin 400 or 500 series looks like a reasonable choice for me.
NOTE: I do NOT want to install a big chartplotter, nor do I find a handheld unit to work well in my application. (A 33-foot cruising sailboat)
I would also like to have an AIS receiver, and I understand these units can display AIS data.
Has anybody used these units with an AIS? Is it a good, useful display? Does it integrate well with the charting?
Is there a similar unit that I shoudl consider? (GPS, 4~6" display, under $1000, displays AIS data, fishfinder option is a big plus)
Thanks for your advice!
I have a Garmin 5208 and something smaller the Lowrence HDS5m which is much less expensive. The HDS unit is actually better when it comes to AIS. If you ever get your own AIS Class B transponder as I have the Garmin unit will keep flashing a warning as it recognizes your own boat as a danger. The Lowrence unit lets you put in your own MMSI # so it understands your own boat is not a danger. This may only be if you are hooked up via Nmea 2000 as I am.
Thanks, Jim. I recently discovered this and other N2K/NMEA 2000 glitches, and made a fuss about them here:
https://www.panbo.com/archives/2009/06/nmea_2000_ais_not_yet_right.html
I'll bet that Garmin fixes the "my boat as target" problem quickly, and hopefully in a few months all the MFDs will be able to see Class B static data over N2K, using a standard PGN.
Ben; if this is a double post please delete; the server is slow today.
I have not seen it done yet, (my buddies with the 545 are focusing on some silly marriage thing at the moment) but a quick cruise thru the owner's manual reveals that the 440 handles AIS and DSC targets just as the 4000 and 5000 series chart plotters do. AIS targets are little green triangles on the screen until you put the cursor on them and click, then a thorough list of their data pops up, including MMSI number, vessel name, speed, direction etc. are available. You can also see all the target data displayed in a simple database screen with a click or two. The 440 has two bidirectional data ports and either can be set to 38,400 bps leaving the other at 4800, so you can have both an AIS receiver (or transmitter) and a DSC VHF radio attached, AND run an autopilot. Interestingly enough, the unit still includes a CANNET connection, opening a few unusual possibilities, including networking another display within 6' (possibly.) It has a 3 amp fuse, meaning this unit will not drain you batteries as fast as something else might.
I think the Garmin 440SX (with its own XM weather antenna in the box) is the sleeper of the year for cruisers, offering seriously big bang for the buck in a minimalist package, that is still very easy to read in all lighting conditions. HOWEVER
If you plan on using it with preexisting instruments, you will experience interferance between the depth transducers. The solution is simple: put a switch on the positive lead to the other transducer.
The 440 is capable of even more integration, at the cost of greater complexity: With an NMEA multiplexor (@$200) you could add data from your other instruments and see everything thats happening on a computer screen.
I have the 440S on my 35' sailboat with a ST162 AIS receiver. It works very well and I have no issues with the unit, well other than the depth sounder occasionally locking up in really deep (>600') water. I don't have it networked with anything else on the boat, but as a small standalone system it is great. The UI is intuitive, and like someone else said, it is an incredible system as far as bang for the buck goes.