Regardless of whether you use a dedicated VHF antenna attached to the AIS receiver or transponder or if you use an AIS-capable antenna splitter, there are some basic things to keep mind that substantially impact the ability of your AIS system to send and receive radio signals. 

The following article covers my top ten recommendations for making sure your AIS antenna will work well with your AIS transponder or receiver.

The Standard Horizon Matrix GX2200 AIS/GPS Receiver VHF Radio is not only a VHF radio, but also includes a GPS receiver and an AIS receiver. The question we get from customers is, how can I connect this new radio to a PC and can I get AIS and GPS data sent to the PC? Fortunately there is a simple solution using our USB Breakout Cable that allows Coastal Explorer or any PC-based navigation program to use the GPS, AIS and DSC NMEA data that is received by this radio. While the wiring is very straight forward, you need to configure a few settings on the radio to make this work.