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This article provides some tips for getting the most out of your devices with embedded GPS antennas as well as how and when to use external GPS antennas to improve performance.

This article provides guidance on using the AMEC B600W SOTDMA Class B AIS Transponder with Wi-Fi support and the iNavX app on Apple iOS.

Em-trak launched the new B900 Class B AIS transponder series earlier this year and have done something no other AIS manufacturer has done. Instead of a one size fits all approach with the need to buy extra accessories, the B900 family comes in 8 different flavors differentiated by transmit power, VHF antenna splitter integration and wireless support. This allows you to choose the model that exactly matches your requirements.

In this article, we look at the wireless support found in the B922, B924, B952 and B954 and how to use the wireless capabilities with popular apps.

We are getting a lot of questions about the new and improved Navionics app for Apple iOS and Android and how to make it work with AIS devices that include Wi-Fi support. This article walks through the steps to use the AMEC B600W SOTDMA Class B AIS Transponder with Wi-Fi support and the Navionics app on Apple iOS or Android.

[UPDATE: The latest version of this article is available on the Onboard Wireless site here.]

Having sold thousands AIS devices over the years, you start to get a feel for the most important factors for ensuring that AIS works the way it should. In my experience, the most important factor is the VHF antenna connected to the AIS system. And when I say VHF antenna, I include the antenna itself, the cable, the connector and the location of the antenna. 

We are getting a lot of questions about adding Wi-Fi support for marine devices that have no built-in wireless capability. This post walks through the steps to use one of our Wi-Fi adapters with a Standard Horizon GX2200 radio to stream the AIS, GPS and DSC data coming from the radio wirelessly to a mobile device such as an iPad.

Previously, I have provided instructions for making an older version Rose Point Navigation Coastal Explorer work with the Standard Horizon GX2200 VHF/AIS radio. This article discusses how to make the latest version of Coastal Explorer (referred to as the 2017 Edition or Version 4) work with the GX2200.

While Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) go a long way towards increasing vessel safety and helping to prevent vessel collisions, many boaters also like to use radar for detecting vessels and other floating objects such as aids to navigation that do not have an AIS transponder. This article discusses a new solution from TIMEZERO aka Nobeltec that allows you combine charting, AIS and radar on an Apple iPad.

The Vesper XB-8000 Class B AIS Transponder with Wi-Fi capabilities is one of our most popular AIS products. Many customers use the product with navigation apps running on Apple iPads but we also get a lot of questions from customers asking how to use the product with Rose Point Navigation Systems Coastal Explorer running on a Windows-based PC. This article provides guidance on connecting these two product together using wired or wireless methods.

The Standard Horizon GX2200 AIS Matrix VHF radio is one of our most popular products. This radio has built in AIS and GPS receivers and makes a nice self-contained AIS system - not to mention a great VHF radio. But one thing that is missing is the ability to use this device with a NMEA 2000 network. We have a solution. This article shows you how to easily add NMEA 2000 support to a GX2200 using the AMEC NK-80 NMEA 2000 Adaptor.

Following our popular post on integrating the Standard Horizon GX2000 with the AMEC CAMINO-101, this article discusses how to use the latest AMEC AIS transponder, the CAMINO-108, with the GX2000.

Want to connect the popular Vesper Marine XB-8000 Class B AIS transponder to a low-cost. low-power display? Do you also need a new VHF radio? Now you can solve both challenges with these two products tied together. Check out this article which covers how to hook up the Standard Horizon GX2000 VHF Radio with AIS display to the Vesper XB-8000.

Last year I wrote an article describing how to get two of our most popular products to work together: Rose Point Navigation Coastal Explorer and the Standard Horizon GX2150 VHF radio with a built-in AIS receiver. Now Standard Horizon has released a new radio – the Standard Horizon Matrix GX2200 AIS/GPS Receiver VHF Radio. This new radio has everything the GX2150 has with the addition of a built-in GPS receiver. The question we are getting 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.

Great article by Mark Bunzel published by the folks at Waggoner Cruising Guide.

Two of our most popular products are Rose Point Navigation Coastal Explorer 2011 and the Standard Horizon GX2150 VHF radio with a built-in AIS receiver. And a common question we get is: can these two products work together? Fortunately the answer is yes.

Touch-based tablets are all the rage and more and more boaters are looking for ways to use a tablet for marine navigation and AIS target display.

We have had a number of customers come to us and ask for a low cost solution that combines a Class B AIS transponder, a DSC-enabled VHF radio and a basic AIS display with as few components as possible. One way to do this is to build the solution with the AMEC CAMINO 101 Class B transponder and the Standard Horizon Matrix GX2000 VHF radio with AIS display.

One question we get asked a lot when customers are looking to buy an AIS Class B transponder is: "can I use my existing GPS instead of needing to install yet another GPS antenna on my rail"?

This article discusses how GPS antennas and receivers work with AIS transponders and receivers.