Cheap AIS.

[Mike T]

Has anyone out there used one of these cheaper AIS transceiver units yet such as Matsui selling for around £350 and if so, how good were they/value for money?

[transmitterdan]

Probably you are thinking of Matsutec (possible alias for Huayang). So far as I know these are not approved in the US so not for sale here. Although Amazon seems to offer one for sale but it isn't clear how they can do so without FCC approval on file.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by Mike T

Has anyone out there used one of these cheaper AIS transceiver units yet such as Matsui selling for around £350 and if so, how good were they/value for money?

Really.. Thats only about $50USD cheaper than a Camino or $100 cheaper than a Vesper.. IMHO its not worth it.. I would spend the little bit extra and get a known brand..

https://www.milltechmarine.com/AIS-T...ders_c_14.html

[conachair]

A few threads over on YBW, generally people seem to be happy enough with them.

Matsutec HP-628A - now out of the box

[TheOffice]

A Daisy works fine for under $100.

[Joe Saylor]

Have been using a Matsutec H33 for the past year. Flawless. Easy user interface, actually just the same as my Furuno GPS unit. The Euro trash folks also complained in the early years about CE compliance, just a lot of sour eggs who had paid 1500 euro for the a lot less quality. The AIS technology is simple, operates just off of VHF frequencies..should be available in the 150 usd range...the big compnies have all you moaners by the short and curlies...whinge a bit more or get on the train..

[clownfishsydney]

We have just bought a Matsutec HA-102. This is for our power catamaran that we use for scuba diving. I have linked it into our chartplotter and it is working. I have not yet set up for transmitting AIS as I need a serial/USB connector which has not yet arrived. Price well under AU$400 delivered to Sydney.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by travellerw

Really.. Thats only about $50USD cheaper than a Camino or $100 cheaper than a Vesper.. IMHO its not worth it.. I would spend the little bit extra and get a known brand..

https://www.milltechmarine.com/AIS-T...ders_c_14.html

This just reinforces my satisfaction with my decision to buy a Vesper. It's a great unit, well worth a few extra bucks over a device with less functionality.

I did spring the extra $$ for the one with WiFi, which turned out to be much more useful than I'd imagined. It even sends NMEA 2000 data out over the WiFi, enabling a bunch of other apps and functions.

I'm as cheap as they come, and more than willing to whine about being overcharged for "marine" gear. But never had a complaint about the Vesper.