In this video, I install a new safety and navigation aid called AIS on our 34-foot CHB trawler. The AIS (Automatic Identification System) will use our VHF antenna to send and receive information about us and other boats in the local area. We chose the Em-Trak brand – B954 model.
While anchored in a nice, quiet little bay, I installed the new Class B AIS transceiver into Vestri. It’s a great safety and navigation upgrade that hooks into our VHF radio antenna. It broadcasts our boat’s information, such as location, speed, size, and name, and lets us see other AIS-enabled boats around us. I love that you can even track us online on sites like MarineTraffic.
We picked this 5-watt unit, which has Bluetooth and WiFi for use with our phones and tablets. It also has a VHF splitter so we can share the antenna, it’s waterproof, and it was easy to install and wire in. I mounted it near the radio, tapped into the power with a 3-amp fuse, and set it up with our Starlink WiFi router.
After registering our MMSI number, it fired right up. Now we can see other vessels clearly on the Em-Trak app, Aqua Maps, Navionics, OpenCPN, etc. It should be super handy up north in poor visibility or around big, fast ships. It’s working great already. Till next time!
