Want the Best, Cheapest Easiest AIS solution:-)

[NorthPacific]

Who has a large screen? GArmin 545 has a small screen. Come on stop fence sitting LOL xb 800 or the touch vision one. The top of the line looks great but just out of reach, Next life time maybe :-)

So how about a vote?

[delmarrey]

Connecting to the iPad.

iNavX Setup for XB8000 WatchMate Vision AIS Transponders - YouTube

[NorthPacific]

Ok. I take it you do not need internet connection for this to work ie offshore.

2 Where the hell did the chart appear from?

Looks fantastic, and I use apple products so this could be a no brainer.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Ok. I take it you do not need internet connection for this to work ie offshore.

2 Where the hell did the chart appear from?

Looks fantastic, and I use apple products so this could be a no brainer.

What would you want to do with Internet offshore?! Get the xb8000, it's a real AIS, not a delayed Internet feed lol

[jeffrobbins]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Ok. I take it you do not need internet connection for this to work ie offshore.

2 Where the hell did the chart appear from?

Looks fantastic, and I use apple products so this could be a no brainer.

No, you don't need an internet connection to use an XB-8000 or WatchMate Vision. That's the point actually. In addition to being AIS transponders (real ones not internet iThings) they are WiFi routers which will form a network on your boat and you can connect up to 5 devices to them. In the video we show how to use an iPad app (iNavX in this case) to connect to the transponder and view AIS data overlayed on the chart.

All NMEA 0183 data that is wired for input to the transponder will also be available over WiFi. So for example, you can connect your wind/depth/speed to it and you'll be able to use/see that on your iPad too.

There is another type of setup where the XB-8000 or Vision aren't acting as a router but instead are device on an existing network. This is the case where you already have a WiFi router on-board or you want to connect more than 5 devices.

In both configurations, the XB-8000 and Vision support WPA2 security for your on-board network.

Vision has built-in coastal outlines for the world. But the chart you see in the video on the iPad is on iNavX. In this case, it's a chart of the harbor here in Auckland which we purchased although iNavX has available free charts of US waters.

SEAiq is another iPad app I've been using. Just this past week I went away for a few days sailing with my WatchMate Vision and used SEAiq exclusively so I could give it try outside the office environment. It works well and can use a wide variety of chart types, including CM93.

[tartansail]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I'dd go for the XB-8000. My reasoning is that the display is the weakest part of most equipment so without a display the unit will last longer. I'll use my plotter and my iPad as displays.

But that touch-vision is very good looking and if you have room for it under a dodger or so, depending on where you sail, you might be able to run just that and switch off the big screen. All that while still having wifi and allowing iPads etc. to connect to it

Decisions decisions

I've been considering this as well. Can the USB port be used to connect a Bullet via Ethernet so that the XB-8000 can function as the router for a wifi extender?

[jeffrobbins]

Originally Posted by tartansail

I've been considering this as well. Can the USB port be used to connect a Bullet via Ethernet so that the XB-8000 can function as the router for a wifi extender?

The USB on the XB-8000 is a device-interface. This means it must be attached to a USB host-interface. An example of a host is a PC or MAC.

However, I think you can do what you want by using a standard WiFi router that is connected to the internet via whatever means you wish. You then tell your XB-8000 not to form it's own network; rather you tell it to connect to your existing WiFi router and it is just another node on your network. In this configuration you won't have to keep swapping WiFi networks on your tablet to have simultaneous access to the XB-8000 and internet, or any other network gear you have like a printer or whatever.

Finally, something to keep in mind when using an XB-8000 or Vision is the GPS data stream going to your tablet/phone is coming from the transponder and not from the tablet's built-in GPS. This means you will have a marine-certified GPS feed that can be used with tablets that don't have a GPS or when you have your tablet down below or anywhere it doesn't have it's own GPS reception.

[tartansail]

Originally Posted by jeffrobbins

The USB on the XB-8000 is a device-interface. This means it must be attached to a USB host-interface. An example of a host is a PC or MAC.

However, I think you can do what you want by using a standard WiFi router that is connected to the internet via whatever means you wish. You then tell your XB-8000 not to form it's own network; rather you tell it to connect to your existing WiFi router and it is just another node on your network. In this configuration you won't have to keep swapping WiFi networks on your tablet to have simultaneous access to the XB-8000 and internet, or any other network gear you have like a printer or whatever.

Finally, something to keep in mind when using an XB-8000 or Vision is the GPS data stream going to your tablet/phone is coming from the transponder and not from the tablet's built-in GPS. This means you will have a marine-certified GPS feed that can be used with tablets that don't have a GPS or when you have your tablet down below or anywhere it doesn't have it's own GPS reception.

Thanks, Jeff. I saw that the XB-8000 was configurable as either Client or AP so I thought I might be able to save a device. I'll go back to plan A and include a router.

[jeffrobbins]

If you're going to have a more complicated network, then it's probably best to have a dedicated router anyway. The access point mode of XB-8000 & Vision is designed to create an easy out-of-the-box small network which is good for most situations where you want to feed GPS/AIS to a couple of phones, tablets or computers. It will even route traffic between those devices too. But if you want a more complex on-board network including internet access then switch the XB or Vision to client mode and use an ordinary WiFi router.

BTW: We run multiple XB's and Vision's in client mode in our office so we can connect to any of them with our computers while also having simultaneous internet access and not have to keep connect/disconnecting to WiFi networks all the time. But on my boat the network is much simpler so I run my Vision in its default config as an AP and connect my computer, phone & tablet to it.

[Kalinka1]

have a Vesper Watchmate 850 and wouldn't be without it now.

[NorthPacific]

Jeff and other Tech savy friends, hang on a moment. So, I have a Garmin 545 Chartplotter. With maps from BC Canada to Thailand (jeff Canada is not part of the US) A West marine DSC VhHF Radio and an Icom M710 SSB (Which is being repaired) Also a Ray? Pathfinder Radar.

I have an Iphone Ipad and Mac book Pro.

So if I do not want to get run down by ships, on my way south what is the best cost effective way to go. Please.

[NorthPacific]

Originally Posted by Kalinka1

have a Vesper Watchmate 850 and wouldn't be without it now.

Did you drop an "0"

[Emmalina]

I stuck a Nasa Marine AIS radar in few years ago.. OK in the open sea but goes a bit crazy around Singapore but I am guessing anything would around there.

[jeffrobbins]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Jeff and other Tech savy friends, hang on a moment. So, I have a Garmin 545 Chartplotter. With maps from BC Canada to Thailand (jeff Canada is not part of the US) A West marine DSC VhHF Radio and an Icom M710 SSB (Which is being repaired) Also a Ray? Pathfinder Radar.

I have an Iphone Ipad and Mac book Pro.

So if I do not want to get run down by ships, on my way south what is the best cost effective way to go. Please.

My 2 cents... for off-shore use you can't beat a WatchMate-850. It won't directly feed your iPad but will sip power when it doesn't make sense to have your Garmin eating juice just to show you a blank screen. Lots of folks tell me they really like the 850's anchor watch too. Connect the 850 to your Garmin for those times when you do want AIS overlays on your plotter.

If you want to feed your iPad, then get an XB-8000 and hook it up to your Garmin. But I think for offshore you might be happier with an 850.

Regarding operating in busy waters like Singapore... that's what WatchMate's are all about... rather than showing hundreds of icons overlapping each other, it uses our filtering and alarm management tools to de-clutter the screen and eliminate false alarms.

BTW: I do know where Canada is :-) :-) I used to live in the San Juans and sail the Gulf Islands & BC coast.

[S/V Alchemy]

FWIW, I liked the Vesper WatchMate 850 when I first heard of it, and it's been improved a couple of times since then. A proper transponder (which makes YOU appear on other AIS-equipped boats as a target) is, to my mind, a perfect adjunct to RADAR, one which most small plastic sailboats are only intermittently visible to 800 foot container carriers. Particularly on a short-handed boat, the AIS will detect and start plotting a tanker or whatever before you can see it on many 2KW radars. This gives you more warning and more options to avoid collision and/or make a smaller course correction than "Jesus, swerve port!" (Let's not ask how I know this).

The Vesper WM850 seems to do the most useful things (like filtering and anchor watch features) with the least, or among the least, amp draws and the best, most flexible interface. Naturally, it is far from the cheapest. Good and cheap hardly ever happen. Bad and expensive is, alas, a common thing.