So while I was on my AIS soap box yesterday, Raymarine put up a podcast on the subject that I helped make a couple of months ago. It was done over the phone, and without a script, but some editor clipped out enough of my “ums and ahs” that I think it sounds pretty good. I’m also impressed by Raymarine’s apparent commitment to education over marketing. This was made well before I knew a thing about the Raymarine AIS250 and toward the end I went into my concerns about one-channel-at-a-time receivers. Raymarine could have easily edited that bit out of this sixteen minute podcast, but they didn’t. Not that Raymarine doesn’t know a thing or two about marketing. I was delighted to hear CEO Terry Carlson’s intro, in which he not only mentions Panbo, but spells out the URL! This is #8 in the podcast series; others deal with fishing, offshore sailboat racing, weather, etc. and you can even subscribe to an RSS/XML feed to be notified of new material. Pretty hip for a marine electronics company!
Word of ACR’s Nauticast B started an interesting, if sometimes fretful, conversation yesterday, and, whereas I’ve got the bully pit here (guest bloggers welcome), I’m going to exercise it. While the concerns about over-crowded AIS screens, Class B filters, and minimal big ship AIS plotting minded by minimal seamen all have truth to them—and should be part of every new AIS user’s education—I think their overall importance may be exaggerated. Here are some reasons why:
While I’m sure that San Francisco Bay in heavy fog can be terrifying, in my experience the scariest contacts with shipping weren’t in crowded ports but out in the open ocean, where any bridge with half decent equipment and personnel will likely be monitoring Class B targets. Lord knows there are some dunderheads driving very, very large objects out there, but I do not buy the notion that a high percentage of commercial sailors are oblivious to small boats.
This photo I took on Penobscot Bay illustrates another scenario. Shipping is light here—I’ve never seen two underway at the same time—but the traffic lane that runs down the bay crosses the route of almost every cruising boat going in or out of four active harbors. And it can get so foggy that…
Over the years, I’ve gotten the impression that the FCC can be a capricious, even frightening, regulatory agency. For instance this is the only prototype Class B AIS that was actually shown to the public in Miami (I think), and ACR asked that I include the disclaimer below in this entry. At any rate, the Nauticast B looks pretty attractive (bigger image here). It’s quite compact at less than 8 x 6.5 x 2 inches—the translucent case apparently helping with its “water resistance” while letting the four LED status lights shine through—and it will retail for $1,000 (once it’s approved). It comes with a remote SRM (safety related message) send button which, like the SevenStar, can be reprogrammed by the user to instead turn quiet mode (receive but don’t transmit) on and off. But probably the most important thing about this box is the name on it. ACR’s reputation for quality, reliability, and support will be a real boon to AIS Class B adoption (as the new receivers from Furuno and Raymarine will be for AIS awareness overall). So, please, FCC, let’s get on with it!
This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.
Yeah, man, that’s an Ethernet port on the new Furuno FA30 AIS receiver, meaning that it can plug right into a NavNet vx2 network. It also has standard NMEA 0183 38.4k AIS output, and comes with a PC AIS plotting program able to use the Ethernet feed, so it could be set up in many ways. The FA30 is a true dual channel receiver and will retail for “under $1,000.” It’s slightly bulky at about 10 x 8.5 x 3.5 inches, but that same box will house a Furuno Class B AIS that they’re planning to introduce eventually. I’m a bit disappointed that Raymarine’s AIS250 is only a one-channel-at-a-time receiver, sporting a pretty stiff $1,120 MSRP too, but it does pack a lot of features under the hood. For one thing, it’s got a built in antenna splitter, allowing just one stick to feed AIS, FM, and VHF sets (preferably your standby set). It also has a built-in multiplexer offering two inputs and two outputs, all able to talk at either 4,800 or 38,400 baud as needed. This can solve lots of installation issues, particularly with single-NMEA-port C– and E-Series machines. Note that ShipModul has a special multiplexer for doing AIS with Ray C/E, as does Brookhouse (informative PDF here), and SeaCas is offering a dual channel receiver/multiplexer bundle.
So while I’m wondering if anything is happening Class B AIS wise, the U.S.C.G. was type-approving its first Class B device! Not surprisingly it is SRT’s OEM transponder, also first in Europe, which means finished units branded by the likes of Comar, SevenStar, and Trueheading. But first they need FCC approval. A representative told me last October that they would grant at least provisional approvals quickly, but now I’m not so sure. (Confirmed later in the day; the FCC is concerned about “the control and allocation of MMSI numbers.”) Meanwhile, at least two major brand AIS receivers will be introduced at the Miami Boat Show, and while both apparently have some unique features, just the names on the boxes are going to be significant in terms of AIS awareness amongst recreational boaters. And there will be at least one other major brand electronics company showing a demo model of a Class B transponder that it designed itself. I also noticed that Shine Micro recently put up specs on its interesting, but not yet approved, hybrid AIS receiver MURS transceiver, which may be useful for tender tracking or I’m-not-sure-what. And, finally, Fred Pot reports that the novel “Safe Pass” method of displaying AIS targets will soon be incorporated into Y-Tronic’s plotting software. It’s all good.
By the way, I was glad to see “transponder” used in the USCG approval, as nomenclature is an AIS issue (for instance, I was wrong to use “duplex”). I understand that transpond is not precisely what these things do, but I think it works.
PS. And here’s an interesting tidbit gleaned from SRT’s news page: “New Brunswick Technologies in the USA” became a licensee in December. I’m 99% sure they mean Brunswick New Technologies. Hello Northstar Class B AIS?
In a week or two, yet another ECS, Tiki Navigator, will add AIS targeting and it looks well done. Note in the screen shot (bigger here) how the red target is being DR’d, its last actual update shown by a little circle and the time of that update shown in a window just below its position. I know that some may find this is too complex, but I think it might be useful, especially with slow Class B data updates. Tiki can also draw a target predictor line based on ‘x’ minutes of speed/course, and it scales vessels if they’re sending dimensional info and if you’re zoomed in enough. Included in the demo file will be some charts of the Seattle area and a NMEA 0183 data file showing real AIS traffic. Simulation is valuable as a lot of navigators have yet to experience AIS in action. You may recall that Capn Voyager can read a web stream of live AIS targets, which is even better than simulation (though I’m not sure that feature is still available). And Fred Pot at SeaCas has set up a way you can replay a voyage, AIS targets included, in Coastal Explorer (or Maptech Navigator Pro). Look for the “To see a demonstration” link at the bottom of this SeaCas page. I’ve tried it and it’s cool, including a close quarters “start the engine!” situation and AIS targets seen 30+ miles away, and on the other side of islands, all using Fred’s 300 model mounted on the stern rail. By the way, I have heard that Class B AIS is selling well in Europe but not a darn thing about approvals and availibility here in the USA. Anyone?
I’m pleased to report—at least in part because of discussions here—that EasyAIS has rewritten its Web pages to clearly explain how its multiplexing receiver functions within the Class A and B System, particularly in relationship to more expensive full duplex receivers. In fact, they’ve put together the most thorough analysis I know of on the Web (go to home page, click on “AIS Capability). Besides laying out position reporting intervals in time and distance for various possible target vessels, they point up some other factors that suggest “additional uncertainty of class B reception, independent of the used receiver type.” EasyAIS concludes that both multiplex and duplex receivers “show satisfactory results for all class A scenarios,” but when “looking for fast class B targets, both concepts show weak points, as the information update rate is low.” One can argue that multiplexers are weaker in this regard, but the point is that users need to get educated about AIS target intervals as Class B becomes an actuality, and hats off to EasyAIS for now contributing to that education. (And Panbo rocks again!)
My attempt at a fancy illustration may be sketchy, and the language unfamiliar, but the color coded AIS targets and the full-on data screen behind them suggests that Northstar’s new plotting implementation is exceptionally thorough. The photos above, bigger here, were taken at METS and show one of the ‘new’ Explorer series; its Navman not-quite-identical twin is also getting AIS abilities. Below are screen shots from the new manual for the Navman 8120/Northstar M120 (and the new M84). Notice that AIS text messages can be read, a full target list is available, and alarms can be set on both CPA and proximity. Plus you can choose to have each target project its track based on time (2 minutes to 2 hours), which might help with the Class B jumping bean issue. I have the software upgrade for the 8120 that’s still here in the test lab and a loaner SeaCAS SafePassage 100 headed my way. I’m going to try this…after Christmas. I’m taking a long weekend off, and wishing all of you a wonderful holiday.
When Class B AIS finally gets going, there’ll be yet another issue to deal with: not all existing AIS plotting systems are going to fully understand the Class B messages. Apparently separate messages were anticipated in the original Class A standard but the slotting and details were changed in the final B standard that went official just this spring. I understand that the dynamic data—position, speed, etc.—will likely show, but the static stuff—boat name, etc.—may not until the plotter, ECDIS, radar, or whatever is updated. A good place to see exactly how AIS messages are structured is Brian Lane’s AISparser.com. Among other resources is a neat demo that let’s you turn your own raw AIS strings into targets plotted in Google Earth. Brian is even running a sort of Christmas sale on his AISparser SDK, which I’d guess to be quite good. (Imagine the look on her face!)
And here’s some more good/bad B news: An AIS expert at the U.S. Coast Guard told me that two of the Class B transponders now awaiting USCG approval will “retail for under $900”. But he could not say whose, or when approvals may be issued. Neither could the FCC.
You really need the full screen above to see what’s going on, but that’s the “tow builder” feature in Jeppesen Marine’s new ECS product, which previewed at the WorkBoat Show. A tug captain can graphically build a computer model of the whole tow he’s pushing up a river, which is useful in two ways. One is that his plotted vessel will show realistically in the ECS, as shown at right and bigger here . The other is that the ECS can then update the tug’s own Class A AIS transponder so that at least its rough total dimensions are visible to other boats on the river. Jeppesen’s commercial marine Web site is still a bit skimpy on this product but there is a PDF describing a Precision Approach System (PAS) that will integrate with the ECS. “Hyper-accurate” GPS combined with secure wireless will let tugs and locks share all sorts of valuable data, probably including the detailed tow configurations. The overall product—ECS, PAS, and more hinted at—is called Jeppesen Marine OnBoard and is obviously adaptable, at least in part, to deep sea commercial vessels. The ECS, by the way, may or may not be based on Nobeltec code, I can’t tell, and Jeppesen’s purchase of C-Map still seems to be in its quiet period.
Yeah, man, that’s an Ethernet port on the new Furuno FA30 AIS receiver, meaning that it can plug right into a NavNet vx2 network. It also has standard NMEA 0183 38.4k AIS output, and comes with a PC AIS plotting program able to use the Ethernet feed, so it could be set up in many ways. The FA30 is a true dual channel receiver and will retail for “under $1,000.” It’s slightly bulky at about 10 x 8.5 x 3.5 inches, but that same box will house a Furuno Class B AIS that they’re planning to introduce eventually.
previewed at the WorkBoat Show. A tug captain can graphically build a computer model of the whole tow he’s pushing up a river, which is useful in two ways. One is that his plotted vessel will show realistically in the ECS, as shown at right and