Does OpenCPN have an AIS cache for vessel names?

[sf-robert]

Not sure I have an appropriate title, but the best I can think of.

I'm troubleshooting my new Raymarine system, specifically a new eS98 MFD and our existing Raymarine AIS250.

It seems to me that the eS98 is not populating names of vessels in an appropriate time -- just showing the MMSI number. No destination or other information either.

I first noticed this on an early sail with the new MFD when I spotted a large vessel approaching the Golden Gate Bridge. I wanted to know it's destination to see if we might be in it's likely path. I checked the AIS info and only saw the MMSI number for the vessel. No destination information at all, no vessel name.

Today, in the safety of our marina, I had both the Raymarine and OpenCPN systems fed from the AIS250. The OpenCPN quickly displayed a vessel's name while it did not show up on the Raymarine.

I think it's possible that a vessels name might not be transmitted for up to (perhaps) six minutes due to the design of the AIS system. After writing a long post on the Raymarine forum I started to wonder if OpenCPN might "cache" names from previous trips. I generally do run OpenCPN down below at the navigation table.

Just trying to "rule out" possibilities.

Thanks,
Robert

[bdbcat]

Robert...

OpenCPN does cache vessel names against MMSI number. The cache file is called "MMSINAME.CSV", and is found in your OpenCPN config file directory.

Dave

[sf-robert]

Thanks for directing me to the cache file. Looks as if i may be dealing with the simple realities of AIS.

Robert

[bcn]

Remember that you can distinguish AIS target names from the cache from the rest by the color.

light green: no static data received in this run
green: static data actual