Tryied to resurrect the old thread on AIS but it was too old. Any way wondering what the general consensus is on this GME transceiver for just $549 from Whitworths. Seems much cheaper than the competition.
www.whitworths.com.au/gme-aisr120-ais-transceiver-class-b
I realise it costs a heap more, but have a look at the features of the Vesper Marine AIS. The thing that makes it so good is it is also a wireless gateway. You can get AIS traffic on your IPad etc using dedicated app. It will show AIS traffic when using inavx on iPad. It allows instrument data to be displayed on iPad etc using free NMEA apps.
www2.vespermarine.com/xb8000-ais-transponder
Hi Andy,
I agree with FreeRadical on the XB-8000. The wireless gateway will transmit NMEA0183 or NMEA2000 data (from, say, your Raymarine chart plotter) and then that data is available to you iPad or iPhone apps (like iNavx,etc) so gives you a lot of flexibility.
I actually have the GME AIST120 and added a separate Wireless gateway to achieve what you get with the XB-8000. So had I known it existed (or if it existed), I would have gone for the XB-8000.
I have a Raymarine Wind, Depth,etc hooked into a Raymarine C80 plotter and run its NMEA0183 data into the wireless gateway together with the AIS data. Then running iNavx on my iPad I have all all the data from the Raymarine (Depth, True Wind, Apparent Wind, SOG, Heading, VMG, GPS location,etc,etc) as well as the AIS data.
Very happy with the result.
regards,
Allan
Well I was in the process of looking into the Vesper AIS transiver and visiver but unfortantly my remote for the Auto pilot failed so today I ordered the new smart controller to replace the failed LCD screen in the old out of warranty s100 remote. I got a good price for remote only @ $644 ......this is a must unit when solo sailing a 42 footer with a big rig!
Thanks for all your replies, the Vesper sounds good but I can view my E7 chartplotter MFD (inc the AIS overlay) wirelessly on an Ipad etc so I don't need that function on an AIS tranceiver.
The Raymarine unit would be a good choice because virtually everything else is Raymarine but the Raymarine unit is twice the price, that's why I'm leaning towards the GME. I just thought at $549 for a class B tranceiver it sounded too good to be true.
Looks like a good little unit Ramona. It would just be my luck to drop it over the side 
Is visiver a typo??
Thanks for your info Data wiz I guess the I don't need the wireless gateway because the E7 has its own wireless system.
Select to expand quoteandy59 said..
Thanks for all your replies, the Vesper sounds good but I can view my E7 chartplotter MFD (inc the AIS overlay) wirelessly on an Ipad etc so I don't need that function on an AIS tranceiver.
The Raymarine unit would be a good choice because virtually everything else is Raymarine but the Raymarine unit is twice the price, that's why I'm leaning towards the GME. I just thought at $549 for a class B tranceiver it sounded too good to be true.
Looks like a good little unit Ramona. It would just be my luck to drop it over the side Is visiver a typo??
Thanks for your info Data wiz I guess the I don't need the wireless gateway because the E7 has its own wireless system.
There you go andy, you don't need the gateway (if you can connect to the E7 with your iPad/Phone....er if you wanted to). You maybe need to think through whether to go for an dedicated AIS antenna or a GME AISS120 antenna splitter. That's the way I went & I'm happy.
regards,
Allan
Allan,
i like the idea of a wireless gateway,enabling my c80 plus gme ais to talk to an iPad etc
is it a diy jobbie,and what sort of dosh involved ?
regards
david
Select to expand quotescaramouche said..
Allan,
i like the idea of a wireless gateway,enabling my c80 plus gme ais to talk to an iPad etc
is it a diy jobbie,and what sort of dosh involved ?
regards
david
If you're comfortable running and terminating a few wires and mounting the hardware, it is a dyi job. The wiring/installation of the XB-8000 is straightforward and will be covered in the accompanying documentation.
I have the Raymarine documentation covering the C80 settings changes to integrate the incoming IAS data into the display and the iNavx (if you're using it) setup is straightforward.
Can help via PM if necessary.
regards
Allan
