Browsing: AIS

Cruising Life
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A Fast Look at AIS: How To See and Be Seen

Although it’s been around on commercial vessels for many years, AIS (Automatic Identification System) is growing in popularity and use among recreational boat owners, particularly owners of cruising powerboats. It is indeed a major advance in boating safety and navigation, and a terrific tool in aiding situation awareness on board any boat. In brief, AIS is a digital, VHF-based transponder system that uses GPS, VHF radio and digital processing to communicate automatically among AIS-equipped vessels. You can integrate it on a chart plotter, radar or other display screen, put your curser on the target (another boat in the neighborhood) and…

Cruising Life
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Now: Real-Time AIS Data on Your Handheld Mobile Device from iNavX

Now, thanks to iNavX, you can get live AIS coverage in the palm of your hand. Indeed, the new iNavX AIS Live provides AIS data overlay showing boat positions on their powerful handheld chartplotter for mobile devices, without the need of a transponder. A San Francisco-based company, iNavX has developed a mobile marine navigation app for both iOS and Android mobile devices. The new iNavX AIS Live connects to a global network of antennas to overlay real-time ship movements directly on the device’s chart. It provides instant AIS data, showing nearby vessels without the need for a radar or AIS…

Cruising Life
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BoatU.S. Offers New Online Course About How to Use AIS. See the Video

In a move designed to improve safe boating, BoatU.S. is offering a new online course about how to use AIS, the Automatic Identification System that tracks boat movements on a radar-like screen display. The course, “AIS Electronics for Boaters – See and Be Seen on the Water,” was developed by the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and the United States Power Squadrons. The course is a blend of practical knowledge and technical know-how and is an easy way to get up to speed on AIS, the latest collision avoidance technology that is being used by more and…

Cruising Life
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Navy Orders Ships To Turn On AIS in Crowded Shipping Lanes

AIS is one of those things that a lot of us now take for granted. It’s a good thing, like GPS or radar or sunscreen. It can protect you and make your life on board safer and happier. It’s also easy to understand and easy to use, and it’s relatively inexpensive; an ICOM AIS transceiver costs $699.99 at West Marine. The whole point of AIS (Automatic Identification System) is to let other boats know where you are (and to tell you where they are). It is designed to prevent collisions at sea, or around river bends on the Great Loop,…

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