such a affordable product I have long been looking for
For dAISy AIS Receiver
Hi I am recreational boat owner and hobby fisherman . We live in the Southwest Netherlands , Zeeland.
We sail in dangerous tidal waters with lots and lots of shipping , the largest container ships in the world are passing at our doorstep.
To improve the safety on the waterways in general, our government provides all boaters with accurate downloadable maps in ENC format for free. Those marine charts can be displayed with the use of OPENCPN software and any GPS receiver. We install it on refurbished netbooks and small notebooks like Acer aspire one having the Win7 platform as operating system.
The OPENCPN chart plotting software can also handle AIS data: Heading and speed of surrounding vessels, positions tracking, Real-time ship locations, port arrivals and departures.
The dAISy AIS receiver is capable of capturing all this and display it on screen to you, improving safety at the helm, for passengers and crew.
It's easy to install, and doesn't need any external power-line! The USB connection only is bringing the receiver to life. A small BNC "rubber duck" antennae will catch the AIS signals transmitted by nearby ships for you.
Note: This product has to be used as an addition to your marine safety package, always keep watch and listen for signals and radio traffic. Use your radar if you have one, keep eyes on the gauges and depth sounder. Do never rely solely on any AIS device when crossing the estuary shipping lanes, coastal travel or on high sea voyage.
