em-trak B954 Class B SOTDMA AIS Transponder with Integrated Splitter, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

This AIS transponder has all the bells and whistles and performs very well. I typically track pleasure boats at 20 miles, commercial traffic at 30 miles, AToNs at 60 miles, and the record is a oil rig at 178 miles! It puts out a strong SOTDMA signal and have observed large ships alter course to avoid us when we were barely in visual range at night. I use the built-in GPS, have it mounted just below deck, and have not had any GPS issues. Installation was easy, the only issue is that there are multiple cables that plug into opposite ends of the unit, so finding a good mounting location was problematic. Also the wifi didn't work out of the box, I had to plug it into a laptop and use the utility program to re-enable it.

Good accuracy and signal quality, GPS feed was solid. Since the Milltech folks did the configuration it was a "plug in and go" process. Overall I am very pleased, but encountered similar fit issues as reported by the other reviewer. Some is due to the small available space on my boat, so check this on yours before ordering to avoid disappointment. The cables will stick out straight from the box so you will need to allow at least a couple of extra inches on each side, even if you can use right-angle connectors. However, the provided NMEA 0183 cable has a connector (which also has the power leads built in as a secondary cable) that sticks out 3". I looked for a right angle connector version or just one for the power leads (I am using a NMEA 2000 network) but no luck.

I've installed this in the "e-box" below the fiberglass top on a center console. The built-in GPS antenna works fine in that location. I like the splitter because I didn't want to install a second antenna. It is literally plug and play. There is an iphone app (connects via WiFi - the bluetooth does work with iOS) that allows you to switch the transmit on and off, so if that function is of interest, there is no need to install a physical switch. My only complaint is the size and length of the 12-wire power/data cable. I would have preferred a 2 or 4-wire power cable that I could shorten, as I don't need NMEA 0183 capability. But that would require a bigger box, and I really like the small size of this box. Literally every other piece of electronic equipment on my boat is Simrad (2 MFDs, VHF, sat. compass, auto pilot, radar), but the Simrad box is just too big and this is a more capable unit. It integrates perfectly with the MFDs over NMEA 2000, and targets show up on the charts. This has been a great unit so far, and I would highly recommend it. Milltech was great to deal with. They followed up with me by email right after I placed the order and explained when I would receive it. Highly responsive! I highly recommend them, as well. The only downside for me is that they are on the West Coast, and I'm on the East, so shipping takes a few days. But I would order from Milltech again in a heartbeat.

Shortly after ordering I was contacted to provide information so they could start programming, I was impressed by how quickly this happened and with all communication from Mill Tech. While shipping did take longer than expected it was Detroit's USPS fault and plenty of sources to back that up. No fault of Mill Tech's. The B954 was easy to install and get going. Bonus is that if you use a Chromebook you can then integrate AIS with Navionics and you get AIS plus GPS location. GPS location on a Chromebook is something that I have found extremely problematic. So having this solve my GPS Chromebook problem was a very nice plus. I would highly recommend this product and would purchase from Mill Tech again.

I like the transponder and it works great. I am disappointed that the Bluetooth does not work on my iPad.

Easy to install, works well with Standard Horizon GX2000 and INavX on an Ipad. Iphone app allows for managing settings. Perfect.