More and more boat owners are installing AIS devices on their boats, as a major addition to boating safety, situational awareness and the ability to see and be seen, particularly in crowded harbors or inland waterways with a lot of commercial traffic. Here’s a thorough report from the National Marine Electronics Association Journal, listing seven of the best:
Since its implementation nearly two decades ago, AIS’s applications and its use around the world have expanded. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System and basically is technology that can keep captains informed about nearby and potentially dangerous vessel traffic.
Back in 1988 a global authority known as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set three major goals for AIS: collision avoidance, nearshore monitoring and vessel traffic management. The goals applied to large commercial vessels. In the years since, AIS use has spread to applications such as marking virtual aids to navigation, fishing nets and other objects at sea and autonomous vessels. At the same time the technology is increasingly used by recreational boaters to enhance safety.
Below are seven AIS devices that come highly recommended. They are part of an exercise MEJ does every year in our Buyers’ Guide. It works like this: We ask manufacturers to identify the one model they produce in a particular category that they consider to be their Best & Brightest—not necessarily the most technically advanced or newest but rather the one they rate highest in the product line for one reason or another. Could be the functions and features it offers, or maybe it breaks new ground in maximizing effectiveness or utility, or maybe it’s the most popular as measured by sales to boaters.
The Furuno FA170 is a Class A, IMO-approved Universal AIS transponder, capable of exchanging navigation and ship data between own ship and other ships or coastal stations. The FA170 consists of a transponder unit and a 4.3 inch color LCD display, which is designed to accommodate a simple and space-saving installation with a user-friendly ergonomic design. The FA170 includes six in/out ports, three input-only ports, one LAN port, and one alarm output port. The unit is Bridge Alert Management ready. It can store up to 2,048 AIS targets and AIS SART’s (Search and Rescue Transponder). When dangerous targets are detected, the FA170 provides a Dangerous Target list. Read more:
