Is The AIS Feature On VHF Radios Important???

MonacoMike

MonacoMike

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2009
14,721
Indiana lakes and Lake Michigan
Boat Info
2000 Cruisers 3870
8.2 Mercs
Engines
85 Sea Ray Monaco 197
260hp Alpha 1
I often suggest how much I like the GX2150 SH VHF radio with the AIS receiver built in but few others ever comment on this feature. Do users not find it worthwhile?

MM
 
I think it depends on where and how you boat. In general anything that enhances safety
is advantageous. When I bought my radio I didn't even consider it, mostly because of cost. Now I wish I would have. DSC on the other hand is much more widely used and accepted.
Someday it will be common place.
 
Craig said:
I think it depends on where and how you boat. In general anything that enhances safety
is advantageous. When I bought my radio I didn't even consider it, mostly because of cost. Now I wish I would have. DSC on the other hand is much more widely used and accepted.
Someday it will be common place.
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I don't have it. I'm curious in what actual situations that you've found it useful.
 
We boat in Galveston bay. It’s near the top of the list as far as importance. I can see all the barges, ship traffic and many recreational vessels. I do wish I had transmit and receive and I am adding it next year.
 
As mentioned, depends. Friend of mine found it very useful while on the Great Loop. When transiting the Mississippi River for example he would see the names of the tows pushing long barges and use the information to call the skippers on a commercial VHF channel for passing instructions. You don't want to be on the wrong side of a barge in a curve, and the captains are very helpful with suggestions to keep you out of trouble. Shipping lanes, same thing.
 
Woody said:
I don't have it. I'm curious in what actual situations that you've found it useful.
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On our end of the lake we do not often encounter ships and barges but is is comforting to know that they will show up on my plotter often before I see them.

MM
 
MonacoMike said:
On our end of the lake we do not often encounter ships and barges but is is comforting to know that they will show up on my plotter often before I see them.

MM
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I don't know what you have for electronics but you probably have the ability to set up guard zones and do target tracking with your radar. What's good about this is it can help watch/protect against all targets not just those that have AIS.
 
Woody said:
I don't know what you have for electronics but you probably have the ability to set up guard zones and do target tracking with your radar. What's good about this is it can help watch/protect against all targets not just those that have AIS.
Click to expand...

My new boat has radar but the old one did not. So it was a a bigger deal on the 270. It is a redundancy on the 3870.

MM
 
The radar is not redundant until every vessel, buoy and object on the water has an AIS transponder. Radar “sees” what’s there.

AIS is a similarly helpful tool, but used mostly for adding context to what you see on radar. Knowing the name, nature, and reported course/speed is helpful to have at a glance. The course and speed info is available using ARPA, but more quickly available with AIS. It’s not an either/or decision. They are both important parts of your navigation equipment.
 
My area has a decent amount of ferry traffic. Some of them are high-speed - up to 34 knots and higher, so I like a heads-up on where they are. I too wish I could at least receive AIS info, but I'm not willing to pay for 2-way at this point. Constantly configuring MARPA targets is more work than I typically want to do. The next step is DSC position tracking, which I can do by programming MMSI's, but that's a lot of work too...
 
This is my first navigational suite. Complete with ocular magnification tracking device
and pure lead #2 parchment chart enhancer. Still works too.

downloadfile.jpg
 
I came across my image stabilizing ocular magnification tracking device this wkd. I was thinking how it went from frequent use to the back corner of a storage locker...
 
RollerCoastr said:
My area has a decent amount of ferry traffic. Some of them are high-speed - up to 34 knots and higher, so I like a heads-up on where they are. I too wish I could at least receive AIS info, but I'm not willing to pay for 2-way at this point. Constantly configuring MARPA targets is more work than I typically want to do. The next step is DSC position tracking, which I can do by programming MMSI's, but that's a lot of work too...
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I agree that AIS is quick and easy but MARPA is not bad on the Great Lakes. We typically see ships 10 or more miles away and if we are running along a shipping lane, the question is, "which way is the target going?" If you are traveling the same direction, there is not much of a concern as you can pass without having to be worried about being run over. MARPA answers that question without having to talk on the radio. Just give ships a wide berth. Head to head passing requires much greater care, but MARPA still works. It does add to work load when tracking more than two targets at the same time, where AIS excels at that task. As mention earlier, the value of AIS depends on where you boat.
 
Yep, and I think the value of AIS will increase as more and more vessels have it...

I "play" with MARPA fairly regularly. Sometimes my eyes will play tricks on me and I'm unable to determine the course/speed of a nearby vessel. It's handy at the point to define it as a target and get real insight.

I also use it when following someone, or if someone is following me. It gives me the info I need to adjust speed an avoid an unnecessary pass.
 
Sea Gull said:
The radar is not redundant until every vessel, buoy and object on the water has an AIS transponder. Radar “sees” what’s there.

AIS is a similarly helpful tool, but used mostly for adding context to what you see on radar. Knowing the name, nature, and reported course/speed is helpful to have at a glance. The course and speed info is available using ARPA, but more quickly available with AIS. It’s not an either/or decision. They are both important parts of your navigation equipment.
Click to expand...

I should have said "some redundancy". But I really do like it.

MM
 
superwa said:
Definitely worth it, and can’t wait for one that has two way ais
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We boat in an area that has commercial traffic so having it linked to a chartplotter is really nice. If we were on a small inland lake it probably would't be useful.
 
sbw1 said:
I agree that AIS is quick and easy but MARPA is not bad on the Great Lakes. We typically see ships 10 or more miles away and if we are running along a shipping lane, the question is, "which way is the target going?" If you are traveling the same direction, there is not much of a concern as you can pass without having to be worried about being run over. MARPA answers that question without having to talk on the radio. Just give ships a wide berth. Head to head passing requires much greater care, but MARPA still works. It does add to work load when tracking more than two targets at the same time, where AIS excels at that task. As mention earlier, the value of AIS depends on where you boat.
Click to expand...
AIIS should give you course and speed along with the ship's information. Where I especially found it useful over radar is traveling up and down the St. Clair river which is serpentine. The AIS picked up ships that were around the bend and where radar was blocked by industrial buildings.
 
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