14 th 2011 – 14 th 2024, a birthday (¹) which does not fall round, but a performance worth saluting ! What was just a startup in the early days of the use of tablets and smartphones in navigation is now a company with a long history (²). Dominique Gauthier, its founder and manager, has participated for more than ten years in securing our iPads by becoming the exclusive importer for France of the famous cases aiShell (Originally “iPad Case”). Designed and manufactured in Germany, waterproofness and robustness that no longer need to be demonstrated, benefiting from a range of supports and accessories meeting all needs at sea. Read more …
Label : AIS
Nomad AIS transponder is back
Appeared in spring 2017, the Nomad to Digital Yacht was the first, and the only one, portable AIS transponder. I carried out a detailed test the following summer, reported on this blog (¹). We feared that this excellent device would be abandoned, because it has been unavailable for several months, but not at all ! Right now it is reborn in a new and improved version : Nomad-2. Read more …
XB-8000 new WiFi AIS transponder for mobile devices [Update]
Vesper Marine, company established in 2007 in Auckland (New Zealand), specializes in the design of devices for AIS data broadcasting. Their latest product, XB-8000, is a Class B AIS transponder certified NMEA2000® compact, low consumption, responding to the yachting market and small professional units. It was essentially designed with WiFi transmission in mind to navigation applications developed on tablets and smartphones.
[Updated] After the acquisition of Vesper Marine by Garmin, this device is discontinued since February 2023. The brand name is also removed.
Garmin offers Vesper Marine
Obviously Garmin® has long teeth ! After Active Captain and Navionics charts, Garmin® has just announced the purchase of Vesper Marine, specialized in high-end AIS transponders (¹). Read more …
Weather4D and SailGrib improve the AIS network
Numerous AIS tracking networks broadcast over the internet are available. Among the best known : Marine Traffic, Vessel Finder, SiiTech, LocateEverything, and many others. One of these networks particularly stands out, AISHub, an AIS NMEA data sharing center, which offers developers an API allowing the integration of its network into applications, and therefore display of AIS targets received over the Internet directly into the application. Featured from the beginning in Weather4D Routing & Navigation, this system has made it possible to envisage new and particularly innovative services. Read more …
The new AIS class B+ transponders explained
The new AIS AIT5000 transponder (from Digital Yacht) increases transmission rate depending on ship speed.
A new generation of transponder (¹) AIS Class B+ claims to make pleasure boats more visible. Here's how… Read more …
AIS transponder, dedicated antenna or antenna splitter ? [Update]
I relay here an article published in 2014 on the blog of Digital Yacht which provides an excellent discussion on choosing which antenna to install for an AIS transceiver. Below you will find a transcription freely adapted by me..
One of the most common questions asked by boaters who want to purchase a Class B AIS transponder is : which VHF antenna to use ? Read more …
iNavX 5.2 : AIS by Internet service becomes paying
With the latest version 5.2 of iNavX, AIS reception service by internet becomes charge. Ce service, provided by the company SiiTech for free from the origin of iNavX (¹), becomes a subscription service.
Nomad test – stand-alone AIS transceiver by Digital Yacht
I introduced last May The Nomad, a portable AIS transceiver designed by Digital Yacht. I had to wait until the end of the summer to have the opportunity to test in real situation this device that had been entrusted to me by the manufacturer. I can already say that I was conquered.
I conducted the test in two phases. The first in my home port of St-Vaast-La-Hougue in my own boat, to the pontoon, and at low tide, the port doors closed - the context is important - for the commissioning of the reception only. The second at sea, in Roussillon, with setting the transmission service. Read more …
Nomad, an AIS Classe B mobile transponder
The company Digital Yacht propose Nomad, the first AIS transponder class B mobile with Wi-Fi interface.
The Nomad is supplied with a portable VHF antenna of 25 cm equipped with a sucker and a 4 metres cable, and with a built-in GPS antenna. USB and Wi-Fi interfaces will allow the use of the device with many navigation and charting application for iOS devices, Android, PC and Mac.