Installing AIS

[britinusa]

Santa is a really close friend of mine and he's dropping off a Garmin AIS this afternoon!

Should be an easy install.

We already have a Garmin 700 series GPS, Garmin Radar, and a Wireless Garmin Wind Transducer at the Mast head all connected via a Garmin NMEA 2000 Network.

The install should be as simple as:

• Install the AIS in the Radio bay above the port side Cabin Locker next to the Nav Station
• Disconnect the VHF Antenna from the VHF Radio
• Connect the VHF Antenna to the AIS Unit
• Connect the VHF Radio to the AIS Unit with the included Antenna Interconnect Cable
• Connect the AIS to the NMEA 2000 Back bone with a drop cable and new T connector
• Connect the AIS to 12v Power (Spare DC Circuit Breaker in Electrical Panel
• Turn it on

I'll take pics and post them. (while I'm also taking pics of our Furling Line setup)

Paul

[Noah]

If your AIS is a class "B" transceiver, then you will need a separate antenna or antenna splitter. Unless the Garmin has a splitter integrated into it. My Em-Trak did not, so used a Vesper splitter --both work well together.

[britinusa]

The Garmin 300 unit is an A & B Receiver (Rx) it has a built in VHF Splitter.

Paul

[Craig Illman]

Milltech Marine lists a couple different splitters. http://www.milltechmarine.com/     I installed an AMEC class B transponder http://www.milltechmarine.com/AMEC-CAMINO-108-Class-B-AIS-Transponder_p_268.html and AMEC splitter http://www.milltechmarine.com/AMEC-CUBO-161-VHF-AIS-FM-Antenna-Splitter_p_298.html    about a month ago.

[Noah]

His Garmin unit is a receive only unit, it does not transmit. It also has a built in splitter so external splitter is not required. It would be interesting to know if the signal power loss when broadcasting on VHF radio is greater with internal splitter than with external splitter?

[britinusa]

Without a power meter at the masthead, difficult to say if any TX power loss.

Finished the install on Boxing Day.

The only challenge was routing the unit's wiring. The AIS unit is too big to fit inside the space aft of the Nav Table (Radio Bay as I refer to it) so I mounted it on the forward face of the head bulkhead.

Had a spare circuit breaker, so connected the power to that and the -ve buss bar behind the top electrical panel.

Easy connect to the VHF & Antenna and to the NMEA 2000 Backbone.

Fired it up and by the time I got out to the cockpit to check it out it was already reporting Dangerous AIS targets (they both were tied up nearby within sight)

Very impressed - but the first thing I did was turn off the Alarms, too much info when navigating the ICW!

The Garmin GPS shows the AIS targets easily, indicating the direction of travel and more. Tapping on the target brings up a display of data of that vessel.

Biggest surprise was how many AIS transponders there in smaller craft! Also, the smaller craft had completed their data setup more completely than many of the larger (75' plus) boats. Most all of the Sailboats that we encountered with AIS tx had their data setup complete. So we knew their name and hailing info.

We don't have the Garmin VHF, but if we did, we could call the target vessel directly by just tapping on the contact info on the GPS (at least that's how I read it).

There were probably about 100 AIS tx units on during our short trip from Sunrise Bay to our Slip, about an hour and half motoring.

There's quite a bit of commercial pleasure boat traffic on the New River that leads to our dock, many of them call into the bridge from a distance and we might not hear their radio transmission (very built up area). So one, unanticipated, benefit is the identification of boats waiting on the other side of a bridge. We often have to communicate with boats traveling in the opposite direction at bridges. Current and Bridge Spans sometimes dictate that we should either wait or get priority when going under the bridge. Being able to call the other boat and figure on a game plan is a big stress reducer.

(One of the bridges we pass, Andrews Avenue Bridge,  has a single span that does not open 90 degrees, so we have to hug the  North fender as we pass. When the current is racing in the direction of our travel it's a bit hairy.)

So, very pleased with the functionality of the Garmin AIS 300 Receiver, integrates seamlessly with the Garmin GPS 700 Series.

Last item to complete our instrumentation is the Water Speed, Depth, Temp transducer. That's in the plan.

Paul

[tgsail1]

Paul- Glad the install went smoothly. An alternate way to accomplish the same thing is to replace the VHF with a Standard Horizon Matrix 2100, 2150 or 2200 VHF- all of which can be had for what appears to be less than the Garmin. Then there is no question about antenna splitters and cabinet space. Integration with the Garmin chartplotters is seamless through the NMEA interfaces and requires only 3 wires. With the 2200, the GPS is integral, so only two wires (NMEA out, ground) are necessary- just saw it online for $299.

As AIS becomes cheaper and more widespread, the problem with screen clutter will get worse. Might be best to just disable it until you have conditions that warrant it- kind of like radar, use it when you need it.

With the VHF/AIS receiver/GPS units dropping so quickly in price, I have to assume that inexpensive units with integral transponders are just around the corner. I'll probably wait until then to add to the clutter.   

[britinusa]

FYI I choose the Garmin 300 AIS as it was by far the easiest install, and did not require any more cables be run up th pedestal.

One of the beauties of the NMEA 200 network, is that I can add features to the system by just plugging devices into the network.

When I install the Depth/Speed/Water temp transducer (soon), all of that data can be displayed at the helm, again, without any extra cables up the pedestal.

Our old Standard Horizon Speed instrument failed on our last trip out, so Peggy simply switched the Helm Instrument to display the GPS speed. (I later just changed one of the data fields on the GPS to show GPS speed and reverted the Instrument to show wind data).

Paul

[Noah]

Lots of targets/clutter here in San Diego as well. I set my display to filter them out until I am out at sea or unless they are deemed to be dangerous targets. For what/where I sail now, my AIS "B" transceiver is probably overkill, but I am planning on some extended SoCal Channel Islands and offshore cruising, sooner than later, and it will pay big dividends in piece of mind.