#1
IP: 38.102.16.169
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Tracking ship traffic via AIS
Here's a link to a site which provides free real-time information to the public about ship movements and ports, mainly across the coastlines of Europe and North America. The project is hosted by the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering, University of the Aegean, Greece. Data collection is based on the Automatic Identification System (AIS).
Bill |
#2
IP: 71.181.37.53
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I imagine the pirates of the world would love this site!
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#3
IP: 173.166.26.241
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I hope the pirates are stupid enough to use this website. What is missing, however, is the locations of submarines and other military vessels waiting to pounce on the bad guys.
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#4
IP: 38.102.16.169
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Pirates wouldn't need a website. All they have to do is get an AIS receiver and listen.
We frequently see Navy vessels on the Chesapeake. I don't recall them transmitting an AIS signal. Coast Guard vessels do, at least some of the time and depending on size. Cutters, yes. The RIB's, no. Bill |
#5
IP: 50.101.48.238
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For anyone on the Great Lakes I strongly suggest www.boatnerd.com - click on the "Vessel Passage" link and it takes you to a current AIS map showing the location of vessels on the Great Lakes equipped with AIS.
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#6
IP: 24.224.152.244
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It's not unheard of to see the AIS turned off. Military and Civilian vessels can shut them down. The Queen Mary is off Halifax right now...just keep an eye. Last year she was doing an atlantic crossing and I'm sure she shut it down as she didn't stay on the screen after about 70 miles out....
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. |
#7
IP: 24.224.152.244
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Just checked on the Queen Mary...no AIS showing at this time. She is bound for Quebec City but there is one example...have a look and see where she re-actives her AIS.
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. |
#8
IP: 174.58.84.3
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There is am app for that. I had a friend show me an iphone app that showed the ships in t he local area.
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#9
IP: 24.224.152.244
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As of now the Queen Mary has it turned back on as she rounds Cape Breton and heads into the Gulf of St Lawrence. That is one ship that I have noticed not always sending out an AIS signal.
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. |
#10
IP: 108.23.219.177
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Traffic~14
FWIW on the U.S. Coast there is also Traffic on VHF 14. I use there service sometimes at night and in the fog as I have no radar. I call in and identify myself, give them my position course and speed and they then tag me into the traffic. They already have me and all others but no idea who you are. Once Identified they will keep me informed of any shipping traffic that I am nearing and visa versa. I have gotten course corrections for avoidance more than once~a great service if you haven't heard of it. They actually appreciate being able to contact any of there "blips" to get them to move to safety and save the paint on the bows of the big guys.
Dave Neptune |
#11
IP: 50.101.48.238
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Quote:
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#12
IP: 24.224.152.244
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I'd say she discontinues transmitting but continues receiving...they have an option for that, I think. But, make no mistake, they will not leave themselves as a target with about 3000 passengers.
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. |
#13
IP: 128.177.81.121
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The primary focus of AIS is to see and be seen by other vessels with AIS. They only show up on marinetraffic.com or something similar if somebody with an Internet gateway (usually on land) hears them and uploads what they hear.
I would be astonished if vessels like the Queen Mary EVER turn off their AIS transmissions. The cruise ships which dock in Baltimore never do in this general vicinity. Inside the COLREGS lines, vessels over 60 feet (I think) are required to transmit an AIS signal. If you see the AIS position of a vessel suddenly disappear as it heads offshore, it's because it moved beyond the range of a land-based set of ears that could repeat what it heard. It's not because the vessel shut its AIS down. Under certain conditions, AIS receivers can "see" much further than radar. Our ham radio club's local receiver, which feeds various websites, saw a vessel more than 200 miles away last week. Under "normal" conditions, VHF is line-of-sight. Google tropospheric ducting, or join a ham radio club! Other than a GPS, I suppose, dollar for dollar, an AIS receiver is just about the most valuable navigational aid you can add to your boat, if you share the water with commercial vessels. An AIS transponder (transmit and recieve) is even better, though more dollars. Someday, all vessels will have them. It wasn't that long ago that VHF radios were something special. My first one was crystal controlled, with maybe a half-dozen channels. Anybody else here that old? Bill Last edited by Administrator; 10-22-2013 at 07:06 AM. |
#14
IP: 99.90.4.95
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Ais
Quote:
Last year I monitored the tow of the U.S.S. Iowa from San Francisco down our coast to Los Angeles Harbor in the hopes of seeing her underway at our end for the sight of a lifetime. The lead tug had AIS and I could track course and speed changes via a website, plan an intercepting course and time. It was a resounding success to say the least. After a four day tow we left my slip around 5 A.M. in darkness on a heading determined by AIS info and a little navigational arithmetic that we hoped would put us close. Just before dawn an hour or so later we picked up the unmistakeable dark silhouette of a WW2 battleship in the distance, about 8 miles off our coast and dead off our bow. We were one of only two boats crazy enough to try. http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6060
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Neil 1977 Catalina 30 San Pedro, California prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22 Had my hands in a few others Last edited by ndutton; 10-21-2013 at 06:47 PM. |
#15
IP: 24.224.152.244
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__________________
Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. |
#16
IP: 71.178.93.29
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Bill...when I was a kid on the boat I now own, we had a VHF radio with a dial and pre-printed channels.....16, 9, 22, couple of telephone channels (26, 27 maybe??) 68, 70, & 83. It was blue & white if I recall. I also seem to recall my Dad saying, 'we need to buy some crystals if we wanted to chat on 72, or 69 like some of our friends.'
So, I am doing a search for 'vintage VHF radios' on google to find a picture of the radio we had...I am having no luck...however, the Icom M422, which I bought about 4 years ago, and currently own, is prominent in the search results. I also remember we had to have a VHF operators license...WYQ-4569. Neil, I remember your thread about that...cool stuff. I have an AIS app from marinetraffic.com on my phone...so, I can transmit my location to that website if I choose..I usually don't, and I am pretty sure it doesn't go anywhere else..just that site. We did transmit however when we delivered Spencer's C-30 from Norfolk this spring so our wives could keep an eye on us for the 96-ish mile delivery.
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-Shawn "Holiday" - '89 Alura 35 #109 "Twice Around" - '77 C-30, #511 with original A-4 & MMI manifold - SOLD! (no longer a two boat owner!!) Last edited by sastanley; 10-23-2013 at 09:49 AM. Reason: Wrong call signal...I knew hotel didn't seem right when I played it back in my head! |
#17
IP: 128.177.81.121
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Quote:
One of the views on the marinetraffic site shows the areas covered by various receiving stations which feed them data. This is the area covered by our club. Bill Last edited by Administrator; 10-22-2013 at 09:14 AM. Reason: Added coverage map |
#18
IP: 75.192.124.67
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North America
This is the current view for most of North America.
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#19
IP: 128.183.140.38
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Here on the busy Patapsco, I've noticed the opposite effect, with ships or tugs often disappearing and reappearing on my actual AIS receiver when they get close.
Apparently, some ships don't take care to to have proper placement of their AIS antennas, and parts of the ship's structure mask the signal when close on certain headings.
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@(^.^)@ Ed 1977 Pearson P-323 "Dolce Vita" with rebuilt Atomic-4 |
#20
IP: 71.54.207.52
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I was troubleshooting the plotter software Saturday, so I had the AIS on at the dock all day. And I compared my AIS unit display with the ShipFinder App.
Neither my signal, nor that of another class B boat, about 5 miles away, ever showed up on ShipFinder. (A lot of people were broadcasting from the park docks for some reason. I think it was a club event.) Several other class B signals at the same locations did show up. I had previously assumed that my slip is too far from the base station to be picked up. My SWR looks good, so I think that my installation is OK. Everyone uses the same broadcast power (2 watts for class B, IIRC) Next guess is that the boats that get picked up have taller masts. But I didn't drive over to look. The other thing to note was that with all of the people broadcasting from the dock, the screen was starting to get a little cluttered, except on maximum zoom. I usually flip the "silence" switch when I'm not underway or anchored out. No sense polluting other people's chart plotters. But then you have to remember to flip it back on when you cast off. I have encountered a couple of tugboats with no signal. I wonder if they forgot to flip such a switch... |
#21
IP: 71.54.207.52
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I can tell you that at least some of that chart is a bit optimistic. At least, in square 66, only the left edge and a small amount of the left top edge are actually covered. From what I can see when I have my boat here in the yard, I could expand it quite a bit by putting in a base station myself. Not quite that obsessed, though.
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#22
IP: 50.101.48.238
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Quote:
But I am not as old as you Bill! . --- -- |
#23
IP: 128.177.81.121
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Quote:
Bill |
#24
IP: 71.118.13.238
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Old is a privelage
My first VHF was also crystal and my license was WTR 3951. I had the radio long before I got the license.
Dave Neptune |
#25
IP: 24.224.152.244
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It won't be long now and the transmitting and receiving AIS will be about the price of a good radio. No reason it could not be incorporated along with GPS...it's a matter of will to do it.
__________________
Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. |
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