AIS and Maintaining Two VHF Radios?

[Jaspell]

Our 34 footer currently has an ICom M502. I want to add AIS so I'm looking at the Icom an M506 which has. If I do that, can I keep the existing 502 and run both radios off the same antenna or does that not work? The 502 works fine so does it make more sense to just keep the 502 and add an AIS transponder? Nav package is B&G Vulcan on a NMEA 2000 backbone if that makes a difference.

Thank you!

[wholybee]

It could be done. You can't just connect 2 transmitters to one antenna because when you start to talk on one radio, the signal will be fed directly to the other and damage it. You need a switch. What are sold as "AIS splitters" are really an automatic switch, and you could use one to connect 2 radios to one antenna, even though that is not their designed purpose.

I have not tested it, however. One possible issue is that if you try to transmit on both radios at the same time, you might damage the switch.

[s/v Jedi]

In short, I recommend that you buy this transceiver: https://www.milltechmarine.com/b951

and this splitter: https://www.milltechmarine.com/sp160

Don’t buy a transceiver with internal switch, wifi or anything: add those features, if you want them, separately.

A good wifi gateway: https://www.yachtd.com/products/wifi_gateway.html

(Which does all nmea2000 data incl. AIS)