Saturday 8 October 2016

N2K screenshots from Actisense Viewer


The NMEA reader lets you identify the devices on the network, in this case the VHF.
See the AIS PGNs in one window, and detail (a local fishing boat) in the adjacent.
So, not quite plug and play but almost.   The many and varied chartplotter and instrument apps I've played with have all been able to read incoming NMEA data, both from the vYacht gateway (wifi and ethernet) which I believe has been translated into NMEA 0183 sentences and from the Actisense NGT-1, which |I believe are NMEA  2000 PGNs.  This is certainly how it appears in the apps' respective NMEA viewers.   You can see screenshots the cool Actisense
See the AIS PGNs in one window, and detail (a local fishing boat) in the adjacent.
NMEA reader at the right.
What I have not been able to do is get AIS data displayed on the various instruments and chartplotters.
The AIS PGNs are being transmitted from the ICOM M506 vhf, but they do not seem to be recognized by tools other than the NMEA reader itself.  AIS targets ARE displayed on the Raymarine i70 and on the small screen on the ICOM vhf itself.   So, AIS  is working.
  You can see in the screenshots that the PGNs are being transmitted, albeit very few.
See the AIS PGNs in one window, and detail (a local fishing boat) in the adjacent.
One of the issues may be, that we are in a target-poor area, especially since with Windstar on the hard, I am using an emergency VHF antenna.  I have also read that the ICOM VHF has had some n2k issues, with some devices not recognizing its AIS data.     That said, (and I hate to admit it) my Raymarine i70 display is showing the few
nearby AIS targets.   So, they do exist, and it does work, pointing back to my poor understanding of networking,or some other lapse in configuration.
Could it simply be impatience -hopping from app to app?  AIS target updates can take some time, no? |
On a windows PC, and connected by USB with the NGT-1 and by LAN and Wifi with he vYacht router, I have tried Polarview and OPENCPN chartplotters, plus NavMon instruments.
On my Ipad,connected only by vYacht wifi, I have tried iSailor, iNavx, NavionicsHD chartplotters, plus EDO instruments,  NMEAconnect.  All of which receive GPS data, but not AIS data.
I welcome any thoughts!

Here is a screenshot from EDO instruments app, this shows the available NMEA 0183 data, can log it, and it pings and  the little pretend-led lights when a sentence is received.   This is running on an ipad and connects via wifi, I was using it (and others)  to determine exactly what data was available.      Does not support AIS but it allows you to create polars etc.  
Search for yourself to see the its very cool instrument displays. (locked in this free version)    You could see how this sort of thing will replace conventional instruments and even laptops for those more involved.  



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