On Sunday I had an enjoyable on board visit with another avid marine electronics geek (and Panbo reader), and one of several things he said that stuck with me was, “If I could get a Class B AIS for $1,500, I’d write a check today!” Well, he doesn’t have long to wait, and he’s going to have choices. I understand that the Comar CSB200 will ship in mid-September and today the German AIS shop Y-tronic announced that it is taking pre-orders for this Trueheading AIS-CTRX Class B transponder, which will also be available in mid-September. Some notes about it:
* The BSH type approval is German, but it does supposedly apply to the U.S. and Holger Emmel of Y-tronic writes, “We will of course sell to the US!”
* These units will be “pre-programmed by the dealer with the yacht’s static data (MMSI, type, name, call sign) and can be operated in a stand-alone fashion”. I’m learning that this may be true of all Class B AIS transponders, thus minimizing erroneously programmed units (think DSC issues). And you’ll still be able to get AIS target and GPS position feeds from the unit if you want.
* The AIS-CTRX has “an additional distress button” that sounds interesting, but neither Holger nor I understand exactly how it works (even after reading Trueheading’s own PDF brochure).
Finally, note that these are not the only Class B transponders that will become shipping products in the next few months, nor is the distress button the only unusual feature. Sorry, but I can say no more.
I’m still looking for more detail on this story—like how many buoys, and when?—but I understand that the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA are working together to put AIS transponders on many of the offshore weather collecting buoys. Of course that means that the buoys will show up as targets. But also broadcast will be the sensor data—current, wind, visibility, etc—which will supposedly then get ashore (and into the satellite and other services) more frequently, plus be available direct to anyone with an AIS receiver and the right software. But that’s not the only purpose, by any means. The transponders are apparently set up to forward received target info via Iridium to the USCG Maritime Domain Awareness Program. Hence, “the buoys would form a ‘picket line’ around the continental and southern Alaska coast that would detect AIS-enabled ships as they pass in near real-time to enhance maritime security, as well as support safe marine transportation for commerce.” (Images graciously passed along by Fred Pot)
PS 8/8: I stand corrected: while the transponders described above are being “discussed”, what the USCG is actually working on right now is simply placing “AIS receive-only equipment on certain weather buoys in order to receive AIS signals from ships further offshore than can be done with shore-based receivers.”
Above, and bigger here, is how NavSim’s new NavCruiser Pro indicates dangerous CPA situations. (And, please folks, if you want to show off how well your AIS application presents CPA info, don’t hesitate to send me screen shots.) But today my real subject is the Coast Guard’s desire to add some 17,000 more vessels to those already required to carry AIS in U.S. waters. Here’s some of the language from a notice about the proposed rulemaking, which may take effect in 2007. The vessel groups affected are all commercial self-propelled vessels 65 feet or greater (including fishing and passenger vessels), towing vessels 26 feet or greater and over 600 horsepower, vessels carrying 50 or more passengers or certain dangerous cargoes; dredges and certain high speed passenger craft; operating on U.S. navigable waters. We estimate that the number of vessels affected by the AIS portion of this rulemaking is approximately 17,400 foreign and domestic vessels
It is my understanding that this new AIS fleet—which includes, yipee, the Maine state ferries that criss cross my Bays in all conditions plus many of the fishing boats that meander around unpredictably on the offshore Banks—will have the choice of Class A or Class B transponders, and the latter will be on the market this fall. So in the next year, seeing AIS targets will become even more valuable, and the ability to transpond yourself much less expensive. But remember that Class B units only broadcast dynamic data once every 30 seconds, at best. Won’t that make single channel receivers seem noticeably slow on the update? There are other issues with Class B, but they’ll have to wait.
Here, and bigger here, is some gear installed at the communications desk just behind Spirit of Zopilote’s helm. Mind you that the 64’ SoZ is not required to carry AIS; skipper Bruce Kessler—a guy with approximately 25,000 hours at sea—voluntarily equipped himself with that full-on Class A Furuno FA-100 transponder. “I figure it's important to us. We travel outside, we travel in the shipping lanes.” Kessler says (I’ve been listening to the interview tapes today). Of course he values the AIS target information showing on Nobeltec Admiral above and at his helm, but he also knows that at least some ships are seeing him in similar detail. Several times during his East Coast transit he had ship officers or pilots radio him—”call me by name, instead of ‘boat at …, course of…etc.’ and say something like‘we have a little problem here, that other vessel over there is…and would you mind moving a bit more to starboard…’. It’s just how we were hoping this would work!” Not that the Furuno unit has been flawless. Apparently it’s been back for servicing once already and still won’t interface nicely with SoZ’s electronic compass. That’s why her AIS target at rest wasn’t quite right when I first spotted it a month ago. Nor is it easy to input data like the vessel’s dimensions, but that gave me an opportunity to fiddle with the thing. (Unlike a month ago, SoZ’s AIS target now shows correct dimensions, which are actually input relative to its GPS antenna, which means there’s some math involved, which may be why it gets messed up so often, as in yesterday’s entry). At any rate, Kessler is a good example of a serious cruiser who has chosen to transpond, and is glad of it. But I’m sure he’s too damn salty to count on it. Which is good because—you might find this surprising—many ships out there don’t actually have a decent way to monitor the AIS data being received by their own transponder. In fact, take a look at the picture above again. That teensy plotting screen on the FA-100 (now superceeded by Furuno’s newer FA-150) actually exceeds the minimum specs for the Minimum Keyboard and Display (MKD), which is all that a ship is so far mandated to have in the wheelhouse. Transpond away, but you may not be noticed.
Apologies to Shakespeare. Please do open the full screen of the above, as it nicely illustrates a point I mentioned this morning…how neatly Capn Voyager plots where a Closest Point of Approach is going to happen. I like it and I don’t recall seeing it done before, either with AIS or ARPA (but I certainly could have missed something). The screen shot also illustrates another situation I’d rather simulate than actually experience in limited visibility…an 85’ motor yacht and xx’ tug coming together with me as the possible sandwich meat, worse if I slow down! Now, here’s a question. Class B AIS is just about to hit the market, likely in the $1,200–$1,500 range. But some knowledgeable people think that it doesn’t matter much for smaller boats to be sending out their position, that 90% of AIS’s value is in being able to see what the big guys are doing so you can stay the hell out of of their way. What do you think?
PS. I like software like Nobeltec and Coastal Explorer which can draw AIS targets to scale when you zoom in to an appropriate level, but notice how screwed up the dimensions of the tug Seguin are. I see user input mistakes like this all the time.
Call me a scaredy cat, but I vividly remember a morning watch motoring in thick fog toward Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, knowing that a sister ship to this ferry would soon overtake us at high speed, fog be damned. I was aboard a 42’ sloop with a dinky 12” radar scanner and a questionable radar reflector (they all are), and I was picturing one of those bows piercing something other than waves! That was maybe six years ago, and I don’t think I’d even heard of AIS yet. If I’d been out there this morning—instead of simulating a voyage using The Capn and live AIS targets (note the CPA graphic)—look at all the information I could have had! Panbo already has a prodigious collection of AIS entries, but there’s lots happening, so brace yourselves for a few more.
I guess it’s a little pathetic—me spending so much time on the Web, instead of on the water—but I have enjoyed using SeaLinks AIS Live, above, to keep track of some bigger yachts visiting Maine this summer. As of yesterday, Shine Micro, aka SeaLinks, is making users register but it’s easy and free. I don’t know where their receivers are positioned but they surely work well, as seen in the screen shot bigger here. That chart is about 150 miles wide, and Spirit of Zopilote is tucked into Southwest Harbor surrounded by hills. It’s hard to make out even on SeaLink’s small area chart of Portland, but that’s where the 228’ Floridian is now. I first saw her off Camden via AIS last Friday, then in the mega flesh shown below, but AIS couldn’t alert me to the fact that ex President Bush would lunch aboard on Monday. It gets wild around here this time of year! (Here’s the photo bigger, easier to make out the owner’s team—the Miami Dolphins—logo on the copter tail and the Intrepid “tender”, which has triple 285’s on its stern).
PS. It’s amazing how many different ways there are to display AIS on the Web, and new ones seem to crop up every week. Here’s San Francisco Harbor with the ships animated, and here’s shipping along the coast of Germany overlaid on Google Maps or Google Earth (if you register, and have GE installed, but very, very cool). And don’t forget classics like the Irish Sea and the grand daddy of them all, AISLive.com (which also requires registration, but covers many coasts). Enjoy.
PPS. Rosepoint Navigation is testing eight different AIS receivers from Milltech Marine, SeaLinks/Shine Micro, and SeaCas, and we plan to publish the results here on Panbo. Stay tuned (so to speak).
PPPS. The world of AIS, and Panbo, is large. Jan Egholm, part of a team running a commercial AIS service in the Faroe Islands, just sent along this image demonstrating how well a Shine Micro receiver can work on a 750 meter hill. Those AIS targets stretch from Iceland to Norway! Jan’s company Web site is a little tough to read because it’s in Faroese, but here’s a PDF explaining Vikmar’s service in English (there’s much more to Web AIS than megayacht ogling).
This whole last week was rich with AIS-related matters, including a fine visit with Fred Pot, but yesterday it got almost silly. First I got a call from Jeff Moser at PMY (who’s turning out to be a talented and good humored addition to the staff there), asking if I could write a feature on AIS for a special annual pub called the Yacht Owner’s Guide that’s oriented to bigger boats. Of course I will, why not, says I (FYI: I’m committed to my monthly PMY columns, and wonderfully free to choose their subject matter; everything else is by suggestion, from one direction or the other).
Latter in the day, I hooked up Fred’s SafePassage all-in-one AIS receiver/dGPS to the Raymarine E-120. Everything worked well, and darned if I didn’t see my first AIS target right in Camden Harbor (the screen above, bigger here, shows what happens when you first cursor on a target). And darn if it wasn’t Spirit of Zopilote, a well known 64’ trawler operated by a gentleman named Bruce Kessler, a reputed guru of offshore power boat cruising. I called the marina owner, who checked with Kessler, and minutes later I was onboard taking pictures and having a great gam with Bruce. So AIS helped me collect some excellent material for an AIS article, and Panbo entries to come! (By the way, Kessler is aware that he hasn’t yet re-entered some of the static info, like length and draft, since his Furuno FA 100 came back from an update, and, yes, I did obscure part of his MMSI and call sign).
* Thanks to Panbo reader Derek for a link to AISLiverpool, the neatest AIS plotting Web site I’ve ever seen, especially since AISlive, and then Xanatos, became mostly subscription services. I’m not sure this will please the IMO, which is trying to limit AIS Web broadcasting, but it certainly is a great place to see how well the technology works. The example above, cropped from the full screen shot, illustrates how AIS is now being used to mark significant fixed objects, as well as ships. AISLiverpool is also endless fun for harbor gawkers, adding Web cams, photos, track histories and more to the AIS data. The site seems to be the work of an enthusiast, but I can’t find a link to the author (anyone?), who deserves applause I think.
* Check out Maritec, makers of just about everything AIS including test hardware and software. The news section suggests that the Class B AIS standard is finally done (maybe someone can confirm?).
* And here’s an interesting conversation about diddly but important NMEA 0183 details involved with getting an AIS receiver connected to a Raymarine C or E. Meindert Sprang, of ShipModul, provides expertise as usual.
* Finally, note how a Brookhouse Multiplexer made Jan-Enno a “happy man” by letting him hook a new SR 162 AIS receiver to both his Raymarine C80 (along with SeaTalk instruments) and his laptop. He explains how it works in the “user comments” section at the Brookhouse site.
Above, me hearties, is an AIS target plotted on a test Garmin 3120 in my basement last weekend, at least minimally. For instance, the plotter should have been showing the vessel’s name by the time I took this photo (I know it was being transmitted), and the manual shows an AIS subtab in this Map menu that apparently doesn’t yet exist. So I’d say that Garmin’s AIS display is a work in progress, which is probably why the company hasn’t promoted it yet (despite all of Pascal’s prodding). I’ll bet that the feature will get fully developed in future software revs, including CPA and TCPA controls. I hope too that the High Speed NMEA setting used for AIS reception will also be able to see GPS strings, which did not seem to be happening in my test (I was using a SeaCas combo AIS receiver and GPS).
But I had another reason to use this particular photo, bigger here. Trying the 3120 reminded me how neatly Garmin does this Map Setup menu, letting you see the effects of any setting change live in a chart window you can zoom/scroll. It works Great!
On Sunday I had an enjoyable on board visit with another avid marine electronics geek (and Panbo reader), and one of several things he said that stuck with me was, “If I could get a Class B AIS for $1,500, I’d write a check today!” Well, he doesn’t have long to wait, and he’s going to have choices. I understand that the Comar CSB200 will ship in mid-September and today the German AIS shop Y-tronic announced that it is taking pre-orders for this Trueheading AIS-CTRX Class B transponder, which will also be available in mid-September. Some notes about it:
I’m still looking for more detail on this story—like how many buoys, and when?—but I understand that the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA are working together to put AIS transponders on many of the offshore weather collecting buoys. Of course that means that the buoys will show up as targets. But also broadcast will be the sensor data—current, wind, visibility, etc—which will supposedly then get ashore (and into the 
