The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

Marine Electronics Recommendations—Communications

Icom_IC-M604-aac

Let’s assume you want to go voyaging and have just bought a new boat with no electronics at all. First let’s deal with communications:


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Jo

John,

when talking about costs, your solutions isn’t so terribly expensive. Sure compared to semaphore flags and a morse-mirror, the thousands hurt. But comparing those to the cost of fully integrated and networked navigation suits, getting dedicated pieces often turns out to be the cheaper solution, even if it’s only because you pay for less features you don’t need.

Around the topic AIS and VHF, I found two more things to consider:

GPS-receiver: Although many appliances have integrated GPS, having at least one external GPS-antenna is probably a good idea. I ended up attaching a mushroom-antenna to my AIS and have the transponder then distribute the data-stream to the other appliances via NMEA-0183.

VHF-Antenna: Two antennas on the mast(s) or an antenna-splitter? The second option are another $200 or so, but there is one less cable going up a mast.

Perhaps it’s worth mentioning for those just wanting passive AIS to look at a VHF with integrated AIS-display. That saves all the hassle with the antenna. By the AFI-philosophy the Icom M506 would be the preferred good choice.

Rumen

Hi John,

During the last ARC we used Iridium Go, mounted below deck with an outside antenna. Having read a lot of other users’ complaints regarding this device, I was really afraid that I would not be able to communicate with the organisers and other people and. to download forecasts (MformthismImusedmthenOcens Grib Exploer Plus for iPad). On the contrary the Itidium Go worked for me.
I send and received e-mails (text ones) and tiny compressed pictures). With the Grib Explorer plus I was able to weather route our boat. The only problems I encountered were: 1. When using for voice calls – you need always to be logged in on your smart phone in order to get rings also from it when someone calls you, otherwise when you hear only the device ring by the time you log in, an automatic answering machines switches on and you lose the opportunity to receive the call (may be it is a matter of settings of the automatic answers); 2. When you send messages, each time a message was sent, I was logged out. Fair to say that log in on my IPhone 6+ took only a few seconds. Same story with IPad. Nevertheless, I was quite satisfied with the device . It never failed. Form time to time it loses the sattelite connection and then it emits a particular sound, which stops when it finds it again. This happened often (several times per 24 hours) but I am not sure whether it is a fault of this particular device (the Iridium Go).

I believe that the Iridium Go is the future way to go and sure there is a way to improve the applications. In theory if you lose the will-fi connection or the applications get bugged, you have no connection but it never happened to us. If you lose your only phone/tablet with downloaded applications, the Iridium Go becomes useless, but on board normally there are a few smartphones/tablets.

Dick Stevenson

Hi John,
I enjoy your acronym, AFI, and fully agree its message. Icom’s service life always exceeds my wish to get some new capacity; this time leading me to exchange a fully functional 15 yo unit for one that had push button DSC alarm capacity (ICOM M604 radio) and integrated seamlessly with my ICOM MA-500TR (AIS). I have used the AIS unit now for 2-3 seasons in the crowded waters of Northern Europe and in some North Sea passages and found it to do all I wish it to do. (In addition to all AIS functions, it also allows you to turn off the transmit capacity, something I wish more recreational vessels would do when in the crowded waters like the Solent- and even more so when they return to their marina.) I notice commercial vessels making small adjustments to their courses 4-6 miles out and passing at a reasonable distance and my need to make radio contact is much reduced. I suspect they are happier as well as interpreting a swaying bouncing tricolor from a distance has to be work. Much easier to get course/speed/bearing data to work from.
I do not use DSC very often and therefore do not have its use ready at hand in my head when needed and must go to the radio’s directions. However, I have used the function you queried about first hand and it is marvelous. No memory of DSC usage is required nor is there need to access and then program their MMSI number: just highlight the vessel on the AIS (something done all the time anyway to collect info) and initiate contact. I have rarely used this as commercial vessels in this part of the world are well behaved and generally predictable, but one or two whose intentions were unclear got my DSC blast and answered forthwith. Badda bing badda boom. If technology is to make life simpler, then this combo succeeds.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Dick Stevenson

Hi again,
Our AIS antenna is on our pushpit which gives me all the range I want. Commercial vessels (with their high antenna location) come in 12-15M out and I have never felt my AIS functionality compromised by its lower location. This location has a number of benefits: easier installation and troubleshooting, less clutter on the monitor, no need for antenna splitters, which, I believe, need to be powered by the DC grid to work, and (maybe) some redundancy for a lightening hit.
When planning the coax cable runs, I suggest having cable connections in one location. This demands extra cable length for some runs (not an issue if you buy good cable), but the benefits are worth it. You can then easily swap the VHF from the mast head antenna to the pushpit antenna if you lose the mast or take the mast down for canal transits. (For us the coax is from a below decks VHF, a cockpit VHF and an AIS. For ease of swapping an A/B or an A/B/C switch is helpful: there is no need for a splitter and its complications, but do buy a good quality switch). Finally, there is no need for extra fittings at the mast head to give the antennas adequate separation.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Christopher Barnes

John,

Amen to the tried and true model that is not connected to much…

+1 Icom radio, ours is great

+1 Iridium SatPhone, not hard to setup data transfer and for our style of crusing (off and on intensive use of sat phone then very little when coastal crusing). We ended up with X-gate compression service, works fine, awful email interface, but is easy to use on the mounted iPad when at sea for downloading GRIBS.

+1 for Furuno FA500 AIS displaying on a Furuno 1835 Color Radar (with ARPA option) having all the collision avoidance data on one screen is pretty great when you have a mix of targets broadcasting and not broadcasting AIS data (like two nights ago in the English Channel)

+1 to seperate antennas for VHF and AIS, we lost 70% of one in a lighting storm and we’re happy to have the other ready to switch over if/as needed. I like Dick concept of separating them (ours are both up the mast).

Christopher