AIS for boaters

AIS, or the Automatic Identification System, is a mechanism that allows boats to transmit information such was their position, heading and speed over the VHF radio spectrum as digital data. This information can then be used to help ships to identify whether they are on a collsion course with any other ships.
This video goes through how it works and how to get it up and running on your boat.
The website used to view AIS data online is www.marinetraffic.com/
The website used to obtain an MMSI is www.operations.amsa.gov.au/
The ProAIS2 software can be downloaded from here www.raymarine.eu/service-and-...
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Common items used in these videos are available from my Amazon store at www.amazon.com/shop/dangarmarine
Dangar Marine is proudly sponsored by MarineEngine.com. MarineEngine.com supplies a wide variety of spare parts for many brands of outboard motors. If you are in the US, be sure to check out their online store www.marineengine.com/
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[@oletrenner]

Hi Stu, complete with graphics the video is even better! Honestly, I'm a big fan of your style of video - detailed, structured, informative, entertaining. Thanks for fixing so quickly, greatly appreciated. Cheers!

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks Ole!

[@alexanderkupke920]

What a relieve, looks just great.

[@MattKellyFishingBoating]

Glad you uploaded this version mate! The graphics are epic!!

[@DangarMarine]

Learnt one thing this week, don't trust Final Cut Pro plugins! ;)

[@MattKellyFishingBoating]

Hahaha just let me know if you need anything else from Premiere ;)

[@DangarMarine]

LOL. Will do. :)

[@Spikexphil]

One of the things about AIS is youre now part of a data base that can be tracked, youre added to my fleet of ships by the way haha.

[@ChrisinOSMS]

I am so glad you addressed the coil, inductance kills reception. I loved the eye roll at the restriction mention in the US. We get screwed in the name of the $$$$.

[@Neptune730]

I have had Renko in my fleet on Vessel Finder since you installed your AIS.😁

[@DangarMarine]

Nice 👍

[@paulhannelly9846]

A simple method of explaining time division multiplexing but it worked

[@steved2136]

LOL- just looked you up, you're about 6km away from a mate of mines house lol (Coomera)- shame I'm not nearby (about three hours drive away)

[@Slazlo-Brovnik]

Interesting detail information about AIS. Just checked, Renko is right now here: 33° 08' 00.3" S, 151° 33' 44.6" E

[@scottdaviesvk2sdx319]

I deliberately didn't comment yesterday, so that I could save it for today..... WooHoo!! Thanks for this one Stu. Great description and explanation.

[@DangarMarine]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Seafariireland]

Interesting! Thank you. SkipRay, Kerry, Ireland.

[@titaniam88]

Thanks Stu - previous release made sense but it is nice to have the image to go with the dialogue

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks mate, I'm glad the first one made some sense given most people won't rewatch! :O

[@iansmartel5473]

Hi it’s working well, you are off Southport, there are two images up. I am on Guernsey in the English Channel.

[@DangarMarine]

It's amazing what technology lets us do these days. :)

[@garryau9890]

My favourite channel. Can we meet up next time in Forster ?

[@cwoldhuis]

Hi Stu, yet another informative video. Thanks. After watching, I got onto Marine Traffic and checked out where you are. I’m annoyed as I was just on the Gold Coast and even went for a bike ride just near you. I wish I’d watched the video before going as I would have dropped in to say hi. Safe travels!

[@DangarMarine]

This Chris, glad you enjoyed. Catch up next time!

[@davidmedley9652]

Thanks, from this day forth you will be known as “Mr T”.

[@DangarMarine]

What you talking about fool!? ;)

[@sanitymaintenance1585]

I enjoy AIS on the boat . Fishing offshore it pays to have it !!! Having a good time and catching fish and not paying attention and the AIS alarm start going off and you look up and it's a huge ship coming at you. Most of the time they never see you !! We have moved out of there way many of times and they have never said anything ..

[@Meriphistimo]

Worth re-watching the whole thing with the graphics, which I just did. With you on my "watch whatever they put out whenever they put something out" very short list of creators, you never disappoint, even if technology gets in the way. Thanks for fixing it up so quickly - not that it would really have mattered to me at the end of the day, I'd still be looking out for the next post anyway.

[@michaellewy1441]

Terrific , simple and informative video ... just ordered mine. Thanks!

[@gavinwoodley5620]

Love the video Stu, excellent as always, good to have you back 👍

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks Gavin, glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@williamcantalamessa5231]

Hello from Siesta Key Florida 42 degrees this morning burr

[@DangarMarine]

Wouldn't be too bad it if was celcius. ;)

[@berikco]

Now that vid looks better, thanks for the fix Stu

[@DangarMarine]

Great to hear! You're welcome. :)

[@stuartferguson7947]

AIS is the marine equivalent of ADSB in Aviation - as you said originally designed as a collision avoidance tool that role has quickly expanded into fleet management and other roles.

[@DangarMarine]

Yes, it pretty much is the same idea for the water. It's interesting watching shows like Air Crash Investigation how much ATC relies on transponders over primary radar these days.

[@terreyhills]

Worth Watching again to actually see these graphics :-)

[@DangarMarine]

Good man! :)

[@bloodyeyeful]

Thank you very much for the comprehensive discussion on AIS and such. I found it very informative. I intend to buy a boat soon and begin voyaging and I need to learn what I can now, while I'm stuck on the hard. God Bless.

[@DangarMarine]

Glad it was helpful! I hope you enjoy your voyaging. :)

[@gillesgomez3091]

Very interesting video. I knew nothing about this system. I learned something and I'm happy and grateful for this. Thank you Stu.

[@DangarMarine]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MarkRose1337]

⚠️T😏 Glad it's fixed!

[@markhollier3498]

Thanks Stu great work mate as always.

[@DangarMarine]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@rolandtb3]

AIS100. Well done. Sufficient detail in a simplified package.

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks mate, glad you liked it.

[@gordonagent7037]

Bloody good tutorial Stu, really made a lot of sense mate spelled out the way you did it…….not just a pretty face aye mate

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks Gordon, glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@M1PAC]

I took a look on the AIS website , and what a lot of ships etc ! .It was interesting .Kinda like the airplane tracker. There a LOTs of stuff in the air and on the water.

[@DangarMarine]

It's amazing how much traffic there is out, that's for sure.

[@rickwatts7885]

Thank you for a wonderfully informative episode!!! I learned a lot in a very short time! And thank you for the tip on Marine Traffic, it is now installed and I’ll be watching😝

[@DangarMarine]

Glad you found the video informative Rick.

[@davidmurn772]

Great informative video. One useful feature that you sort of skimmed over, is the ability to have vessel dimensions, and the location of the GPS. This information is used on marine traffic and can also be used to identify larger/smaller vessels, or even a catamaran vs monohull.

[@DangarMarine]

Yes, knowing more about the boat is definitely the strength of AIS over radar. Good point that even with smaller boats it can help you determine a monohull from a cat.

[@rimasmeleshyus9486]

Thank you for information, very informative 👍

[@DangarMarine]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MarineZK92]

Great info

[@clevelandweatherstationwea3777]

As a dealer in Em-trak AIS (much like the Raymarine units) I advise all my customers to complete as much information when programming the AIS as possible. AMSA recommends that the call sign field is populated with the vessel registration (if no call sign is available). The positioning for the AIS antenna placement on the boat is critical to transmitting the correct vessel size. Eg, each of the two measurements for length and beam must add to be the full dimensions of the boat. The size is in whole metres, rounded up or down to the nearest metre. Eg 9 x 3 Regarding your comment on satellite AIS this feature needs to be enabled in the ProAIS2 software and is done by selecting the "Enable Message Type 27" option.

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks mate. I think adding as much info as possible is good advice, that really is the advantage of AIS over radar. Someone else mentioned they use things like beam to disinguish monohulls from cats for example. Very interesting information about the satellite AIS!

[@braithmiller]

Getting an A100 soon. The limited information has been an adventure. A source for more in depth and comprehensive information would be welcome. Most glaze over the physical installation as well as software and design. Thanks.

[@malliz1]

Great video thanks mate

[@DangarMarine]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Peter-ff7hd]

Mooi verhaal mocht je een Raymarine AIS700 willen kopen, niet doen want die heeft seriematige problemen met de voeding en aarde. Intregreren in het STng systeem is fantastisch maar de betrouwbaarheid laat te wensen over. Je mag voor een apparaat wat tegenwoordig €1200 kost wel verwachten dat het langer mee gaat dan 3 jaar. Niet betrouwbaar dus. En dan €700 rekenen voor een reparatie vind ik nu niet zo netjes. Een oplossing is om een 12volt naar USB3.0 (5volt) en een USB kabel aansluiten op de USB aansluiting van de Raymarine AIS700.

[@daynecowan]

Ah ha!! was wondering about the missing graphics. Thanks

[@DangarMarine]

Stand back Dayne, professional at work. ;) Hope you and Tam are well!

[@daynecowan]

@@DangarMarine All good mate. :)

[@McTroyd]

Another channel I follow, Ran Sailing, pointed out an interesting failure mode of AIS. On their boat (as with Renko IIRC) the GPS and AIS units are two separate things. While they were in port in their home country of Sweden, the GPS unit failed. I guess they don't use that GPS for navigation, but they didn't notice until someone pointed out to them that AIS showed their boat as hundreds of kilometers away. So, if you're in Australia, and AIS shows you a boat in Alaska, that could be why. 😁 Love the graphical additions! Hopefully that doesn't put too much work on you. 👍️

[@DangarMarine]

Interesting. Renko has four GPSs on the network so hopefully I have the redundancy I need, but very interesting to know. The graphics isn't that hard now I've figured out how to do it. I'm keen to use it a bit more where it makes sense.

[@braithmiller]

Internet sites will show at best last point relayed to the server. Frequently 15 minutes old. Stale not live data, why none should use webservice ais for safety.

[@dmc2554]

I hope you get the right prop soon!

[@DangarMarine]

The new prop is at Adrian's house now, will put it on next time I do antifoul.

[@gregorythomas333]

Since AIS transmits on VHF will you need a radio operator's license? Nevermind...you answered it :) Hey...I found you!!

[@DangarMarine]

Nice. :)

[@workinonhouse]

Video suggestion: Take Renko out in really rough water and show how it handles..

[@DangarMarine]

Have definitely done that. I should set a camera up at those times but I'm mostly just hanging on for dear life!

[@workinonhouse]

@@DangarMarine understood!

[@wesleyregan3898]

Great video Stu. A while ago u said u might do a video on remote watching your vessel while on anchor ⚓ Any chance you could do this please

[@DangarMarine]

Ah yes, I definitely will. I think the start of that video is on my other laptop at home but I'll definitely finish that one when I get back. Starting the journey home tomorrow!

[@ytdf1972]

Interestingly I know of one KZbin sailing family that mostly keep AIS turned off for personal safety reasons, otherwise its a great system.

[@DangarMarine]

It is a double edged sword, particularly as a KZbin boat.

[@braithmiller]

There are many reasons to go passive mode.

[@mckrunchytoast2469]

Another informative and awesome video! I do have a question and I definitely trust your thoughts. Do you have a repair book or a general maintenance book you'd recommend for small out boards? Grandfather passed and his 83' bass tracker was left to me, I'm mechanically inclined but would firmly appreciate a good point in the right direction. Thanks in advance if you got any recommendations! Take care!

[@DangarMarine]

Good question. I don't specifically have one I know of (I've even been thinking of writing one). I'm working on this website though that might help you outboard.dangarmarine.com/guide

[@mckrunchytoast2469]

@@DangarMarine wonderful! The layout is grand. If you ever do write that book I can guarantee I'll be one of the first to snag a copy! Thanks a million.

[@MrCrabbing]

Yes looks like Renko is almost half way home now, I only have a AIS receiver on my boat, need to upgrade it.

[@DangarMarine]

Yes, it is good to also be able to transmit. Makes you much safe from other boats and easier to find in an emergency.

[@MrCrabbing]

@@DangarMarine Yes I guess it could say I were towing a trawl

[@alwaystinkering7710]

Very helpful! Thanks! But I noticed something unrelated. Your friend's boat is a configuration I've never seen before. The twin engines are to the outside and there's a boarding platform in the center. That's cool, is it a common layout there?

[@tsstsstsstsstsstss]

Good stuff! Also, I want a renko shirt like that, any chances of you putting it back up on teespring?

[@DangarMarine]

It still on tee spring. Well, should be!

[@tsstsstsstsstsstss]

@@DangarMarine Weird, I only find the pullover hoodie with that logo

[@georgef7754]

Is an AIS system a legal requirement on all vessels in Oz and NZ?

[@DangarMarine]

Only for certain commercial vessels, not recreational. Actually, having said that, some cruising boats are required to have AIS on for immigration to prove they have come straight from the country they have said they left from.

[@mrizkic]

Guys got a question what about lightning on sea. How we should handle that?

[@braithmiller]

Interesting how a bit is obscure in the usa; order an AIS the local levels have no clue, the multiple ends of WMarine all spit opposing information. They say must program the mmsi for you before it's sent then another email after I get it to them saying you can program it yourself. Pulled the # quickly for free from Power Squadrons website, not good for international. FFC government application gave more questions than answers, tabled that. Find out as you did swr is poor sharing the vhf antenna plus I am told during keydown the ais cant send or receive for the overload. Dsc vhf not using the mmsi to hail vessels?

[@wesley1983]

6:14 STMG connectors, what is that?

[@davidvivian596]

Hi Stu, who's steering the boat?

[@DangarMarine]

My anchor is pretty good at steering. ;)

[@gemelmarinegroup]

⚓️⚓️⚓️💯💯

[@markwilkins8314]

Does this mean I have to watch again

[@DangarMarine]

Skim. ;)

[@Bill23799]

Oh, I thought this video was about AI's, like my new girlfriend, Alexa.

[@TheJustonemore]

Find the big yachts

[@stephenspreckley8219]

Will this apply to intermittent ex-girlfriends and/or wives ?

[@DangarMarine]

LOL

[@IsmailNuzaifKokky]

.

[@markthervguy]

Don't you have a cat???

[@zefallafez]

Eddy is his dog.

[@markthervguy]

@@zefallafez yes...i know.... I was asking if he had a cat, not dog, but thanks for helping.