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Real-time internet AIS Sharing to Navionics, iNavX, AquaMap, OpenCPN, etc. with Boat Beacon

Boat Beacon can now share its real time AIS feed from our global AIS aerial network via NMEA with other apps on the same device or on the same Wifi Network. Boat Beacon acts as a “Virtual AIS Receiver” with over the horizon coverage and is the first and currently only app out there that offers this.
Boat Beacon’s global realtime AIS coverage.
 We hope this will prove popular with folks who already have other Marine Navigation apps/charts like Navionics,  iNavX, Aqua Map and  OpenCPN etc. which support an external NMEA AIS feed but don’t have their own Internet based AIS network or feed available.
Navionics have worked closely with us on this with their Boating app  AIS feature and recommend Boat Beacon in its own category in their  Boating app – AIS Devices Compatibility Guide.
The new Boat Beacon AIS Share feature is free to trial.  If you find it useful you can use it any time when you are out boating for a small monthly or annual subscription via IAP.
You can get the latest version of Boat Beacon from the Apple App Store here and Google PlayStore here.
By the way, our own top selling marine charts navigation app SeaNav already has AIS built in as standard and if you haven’t tried SeaNav why don’t you give it a spin for free first, you can download it from here now https://apps.apple.com/app/seanav/id857841271 .
Here are some screenshots from Navionics, iNavX and OpenCPN using it.

Navionics connected to Boat Beacon on 127.0.0.1 TCP port 5353

On iOS

On Android
 iNavX on same  device ( using TCP 127.0.0.1 port 5353 )

AquaMap

AquaMap

OpenCPN running on a Mac via Wifi to Boat Beacon running on an iPhone ( TCP to 192.168.1.106 port 5353).

 

There are some simple step by step instructions on how to set up Boat Beacon AIS Sharing with the Navionics Boating app here:-  https://pocketmariner.com/setup-boat-beacon-share-ais-navionics/

and here is the description in our user guide:-

AIS Sharing

Share Boat Beacon’s real time internet AIS feed via NMEA with other apps on your device and on the same Wifi network, like Navionics, OpenCPN on your Mac, iNavX , AquaMap etc. so you can see live ship positions around you on their charts as well. Pocket Mariner’s AIS service is fed by one of the largest network of AIS shore receivers world-wide covering most major ports, harbours and popular coastal areas with over 60,000 live ship positions at any time. Boat Beacon acts like a virtual AIS receiver and can also share your live position via Internet AIS with other users and internet based AIS services like MarineTraffic. After purchasing the Boat Beacon AIS Sharing IAP (monthly or yearly subscriptions available) just set your other apps NMEA TCP settings to connect to the IP address and TCP port (default is 5353) shown in Boat Beacon’s AIS Share setting. If you are sharing with an app on the same device you should use 127.0.0.1 as the IP address to connect to instead of the actual device IP address so you never have to change the setting when you are on a different network. Boat Beacon must be in sailing mode when sharing with other apps on the same device so it can track your position and continually update the live AIS data around you in the background. Tap the SailBoat icon  bottom left to enable Sailing mode. In the unlikely event that you need to change the TCP port number in Boat Beacon to another number, tap on the AIS Share setting row and enter it. 

On iOS you can try it out at home when there are no boats around your location by putting Boat Beacon into Demo mode ( Settings/Demo mode) first and then set sailing mode. Make sure the other app is showing the same map location as the demo mode is. Make sure to turn sailing and demo mode off when you are done. If Boat Beacon is not displaying any ships around your location then no ships will appear in the other apps either.

On Android get a 3 day free trial to try it out when you sign up for one of the subscription options. You can cancel the subscription at any time and will not be charged anything if you cancel before the end of free trial period.

Get the latest version of Boat Beacon from the App Store from here now and Google PlayStore here.

Australian and French charts

Australian and French vector (ENC) charts are now available for SeaNav.

The French charts include live tidal stream information up to 7 days ahead, especially important for the northern coast and channel. Here is an example for the Golfe du Morbihan in Britanny where PocketMariner’s Captain has personally experienced the very fast tidal flows :-

The free version of SeaNav has demo routes which let you try all the advanced features such as AIS (collision detection), Weather, Wind and Depth displays, Tidal Streams, Augmented Reality and of course the charts for free. New demo routes have been added for France and Australia. The demo route for Australia is from Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast:-

You can get SeaNav for iPhone, iPad and Apple Silicon Macs free from the AppStore here now:-

https://apps.apple.com/app/seanav/id857841271

Track and record boat races with BoatBeacon groups

You can now track, record and replay races with Boat Beacon on Android and iOS using groups and the following web page:-

https://boatbeaconapp.com/ais/race/MYGROUPNAME

Where MYGROUPNAME is your group name. The group hashtag name is anything you like up to 20 capital letters (no spaces). Set your group name in Boat Beacon/Settings/My Trip Details.

The initial view shows the last know position of all boats in the group. Click on “Start race” to show and track live positions. A race timer displays how long the race has been running for. Click on “Stop race” to end and save the race information to a local file.

When you stop the race two timestamped files are exported to your local desktop, a .kml file that can be used to view the tracks in Google Earth and a .geojson file which can be re-loaded up to the web page to replay the race using the “Choose file” button.

When a previously recorded race is loaded the following controls appear

A slider to fast forward and back through the race and tracks. A Playback speed slider to set the speed of the playback and a Play/Stop button. Click the Play button to start replaying the race from the slider position. There is also a checkbox top right “GPS Tracks” to turn the tracks on and off.

Here is the PocketMariner YC page – currently both boats ashore.

https://boatbeaconapp.com/ais/race/PMYC

There is a recorded track you can download to your desktop and load up to try here ( N.B this was a cycle test track with one “test” boat ):-

PMYC_2024-04-06T07_04_39Z.geojson

We are looking for early adopters to gather feedback on what other features or improvement could be made to make the new Group Race feature useful. Please let us know if you try it and how you get on by emailing help@pocketmariner.com with the subject “Group races”.

We are also looking at the possibility of tracking  yachts and dinghies during club races using inexpensive small GPS trackers like the one below as an alternative to having the Boat Beacon app and are looking for a volunteer Yacht club to try this with.


The basic  idea is for the tracker and sim card to be cheap enough for a club to have enough of these devices to hand out to all race participants who don’t have Boat Beacon so they can follow the tracks of all participating yachts and dinghies on screen at the club house and review the race afterwards.

Our tests of the trackers show they can run for around 12 hours on one charge with position updates every 5s (12m accuracy at 5 Knots). We have sourced non-expiring IoT data sim cards which work on all networks with enough data pre-installed for 5 million fixes. We are now looking to try with real races and need a volunteer Yacht club based in the UK. We will supply the trackers for the trial at cost and the service for free. The raw cost per GPS tracker device including the lifetime sim card is around £35. If you are interested please contact help@pocketmariner.com with the subject “Race Trackers”.


Aqua Map and Boat Beacon AIS Sharing

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Get live AIS ship positions around you on the Aqua Map app with Boat Beacon’s virtual AIS receiver.
 
Boat Beacon can now share its real time AIS feed from our global AIS aerial network via NMEA with Aqua Map on the same device or on the same Wifi Network. Boat Beacon acts as a “Virtual AIS Receiver” and is the first and currently only app out there that offers this .
 
Aqua Map have worked closely with us with their app’s  AIS  & WiFi feature and have tested and recommend Boat Beacon in their  Wifi Connections Guide.
 
The new Boat Beacon AIS Share feature is free to try in demo mode.  If you find it useful you can use it any time when you are out boating for a small monthly or annual subscription via IAP.  The Aqua Map AIS feature requires their Master subscription IAP  for AIS and Wifi connections which comes with a 14 day free trial.
 
You can get the latest version of Boat Beacon from the Apple App Store here and Google PlayStore here. Aqua Map is available for iOS here  and on Android here
 
This is a step by step guide on how to configure Boat Beacon AIS Sharing with Aqua Map on iOS. The guide uses Boat Beacon’s demo mode so you can try for free at home away from the coast and without having to purchase an AIS sharing subscription.
 
1. Launch Boat Beacon and go into Boat Beacon settings and turn on “Demo Mode”, then turn on AIS Sharing. It will show the default TCP port number to use 5353 and will be orange ( not connected). N.B. If you are not in the UK the demo mode will be centred on San Francisco bay in the US or other locations.
 
 
2. Tap Done top left and go back to the chart view. This will position the map on a virtual boat in the Solent ( or San Francisco Bay). All the other boats in view are real and live. Tap the sailboat icon bottom left to start sailing the demo route.
 
3. Now switch to the Aqua Map app (on the same device) and position the chart on the Solent ( or San Francisco Bay) and then tap Settings wheel bottom right so you can configure AIS.
 
Scroll down to “Wi-fi connections”
 
 
You should then see the Connections screen*, tap “+” at the top right
 
(* If you already have a device set up you can add another by tapping the + at the top right on the device list screen.)
 
Select”Boat Beacon app”. This will automatically configure the settings
 
 
 
 
Tap “Save” top right and go back to the map view. You should now see live AIS boat and ship icons ( brown triangles and circles on the map) and even a SART Alarm in the screenshot below
 
 
Now every time you run Boat Beacon in Sailing mode Aqua Map will automatically connect and receive the live AIS data from around your GPS location out to 30NM.
 
Notes on setting up AIS Sharing:
  • When using Demo mode to try AIS Sharing out for free you have to position Aqua Map to the same  location as Boat Beacon is simulating at – e.g. the Solent for EU, San Francisco for US, Lübecker Bucht for Germany and Sydney harbour for Australian users

  • Boat Beacon must be in Sailing mode to maintain the AIS feed when it is in the background ( e.g. when you are viewing the Aqua Map chart) on your device.

  • Make sure you have Location sharing for Boat Beacon set to “While using” in your device Privacy/Location settings. Please note Boat Beacon will only use your location when it is running ( foreground) or in the background when in Sailing mode.
  • You do not need to have a WiFi connection to your device to use Boat Beacon and Aqua Map on the same device.  While Aqua Map will run completely offline you must have an internet connection though (e.g. Cellular/Mobile) to receive Boat Beacon’s AIS data. 
  • You can share to Aqua Map on other devices too if they are on the same local WiFi network using the IP address shown in Boat Beacon’s AIS Sharing setting instead of 127.0.0.1 in the Aqua Map Connection setting.
  • iOS14 has introduced a new privacy permission if apps want to use local network resources which Aqua Map needs to have set to yes. The OS will prompt you the first time either app tries to use a connection. You can manually set/change the permission in your device’s Settings/Privacy/Local network. 
  • Might sound obvious, but it has caught a couple of people out. You need to subscribe to the monthly or yearly Boat Beacon AIS Sharing feature via IAP ( tap the AIS Sharing row in Settings to bring up the IAP screen) to use Boat Beacon with Aqua Map when not in demo mode. Also Aqua Map needs their iAP (Master subscription) for using AIS and WiFi Connections.
  • If you have any questions or problems getting it working please email us at help@pocketmariner.com
Collision Avoidance

The primary purpose of AIS is monitoring and alerting for potential collisions. Boat Beacon’s AIS service has two key advantage, instant ship details and over the horizon detection ( out to 30NM).  With VHF AIS only the MMSI number, position and speed appear initially and it can take up to 6 minutes for the ship names and type details to be received. With Boat Beacon the names, size and type are available instantly with position so you can call them up by name over VHF radio and check their intentions.  VHF AIS receivers can only see as far as the visual horizon which is typically about 12NM whereas Boat Beacon’s multiple shore antennas at high elevation can provide coverage out to 30NM in popular areas.

Boat Beacon has configurable options for collision detection distance, time and alerting in Settings. 

You can also configure collision avoidance alert parameters in Aqua Map’s settings:-

  • Collision avoidance: to enable the alarms related to the Collision avoidance (red flashing color for the colliding targets, AIS box red flashing, sound alarms, …).
  • Minimum allowed CPA: to select the CPA (Closest Point of Approach = minimal distance 2 boats will be if following same direction and speed) below which a target is considered colliding. This calculation is done for the time specified in the “Time to CPA” field. In the example above this means that an alarm will be fired if any boat will be closer that 350 ft to our boat in the next 10 minutes.
    NOTE: the collision is calculated considering the GPS position received and a hypothetical boat size (size of the boat in AIS data is frequently unknown or unreliable). So for big boats  this could lead to undetected collisions.
  • Time to CPA: to define the maximum time in the future for which you would search a possible collision.
  • Alarm sound: to select the type of sound alarm you would receive each time a new collision is detected.
  • Volume: to select the volume for the alarm sound you selected.

SeaNav – Portuguese charts

SeaNav now has vector charts available for Portugal, The Azores and the Madeira islands based on the latest official Hydrographic Office data. These work seamlessly together with the existing charts for Spain and France. The charts include the full range of scales down to harbour approaches.

You can download the new Portuguese charts now by going to Settings in SeaNav and selecting SeaNav Chart Store/Portuguese Charts.

Lisbon Harbour entrance

SeaNav – Export and import routes via email

The simplest way to share a route with one of your other devices is to export a route via email to an email address you can read on the other device. The other way is to use Dropbox if you have a Dropbox account. Dropbox is bit more “automatic” once you have logged in and lets you browse your saved routes.

This article explains how to do it via email.


Tap the “zigzag” routes icon on the bottom toolbar and select Manage routes. Select the route you want to export by tapping the i button on its right. Then tap the share icon on the left toolbar ( square with arrow pointing out of it). Select Email as kmz and then fill out the email address to send to.

Open the email on your other device. When you open the email there will be a kmz file attached at the bottom of the email. Tap the kmz file image to download it

and then tap the share button bottom left to open it (2) .

Choose what you want to open the download with – scroll along or tap more if you can’t see SeaNav in the initial list of icons – choose SeaNav and it will import it and open SeaNav on the new route.

“Hey Siri, Man Overboard”

As the new boating season starts we have added a new, unique and useful feature for our popular Boat Beacon app – “Hey Siri, Man Overboard”

Boat Beacon now supports several Siri voice commands which you can use with your device or on your Apple Watch (requires iOS 12 or later and WatchOS7 or later). This lets you use Boat Beacon’s features hands free. The current list of voice commands are:-

  1. “Man Overboard “- Toggles Marking and tracking a man overboard position with Boat Beacon
  2. “Start Sailing” – put Boat Beacon into “On boat” mode. Same as tapping the Sailboat icon bottom left 
  3. “Finish Sailing” –  Turn off Boat Beacon “On boat” mode.
  4. “Drop Anchor” – Mark your anchor position and set a drift zone around it.
  5. “Up Anchor”- removes the Anchor watch.
  6. “Navigation status” – report current speed, course and heading.

You can add the commands to Siri from the Boat Beacon app in settings or directly in the Siri App itself. They work directly with Siri without having to mention “Boat Beacon” in the command. You can also customise the commands to respond to your own preferred phrases or language.

Tap the Add to Siri button in Boat Beacon settings to see the list of commands that are active and more that you can add. “Drop anchor” and “Start sailing” have been added in the screenshot. To add another command just tap its “Add to Siri” button. Once added you can ask Siri to do them at any time on your device or your Apple Watch.

You can also edit the commands that have been added by tapping the “Added to Siri” button next to them and add additional speech commands to launch them. For instance add “On board” as an addition/alternative to “Start sailing. You can type the phrase or enable dictation and speak it. Useful also for setting phrases in other languages or using alternative phrases that Siri finds it easier to understand.

You can view and delete the commands in the Siri Shortcuts app on your phone. Once added the commands work automatically on your Apple Watch, no more set up required. If you want to see them in the actual Siri app on your Apple Watch as well then you can set “Show on Apple Watch” in the Shortcut settings in the Siri app on your phone.

Try it now. Add “Man Overboard” and then say “Hey Siri, Man Overboard” to your iPhone/iPad or your watch. It will sound an alert,  mark the position and start tracking it for you.

Say “Man Overboard” again to clear the alert. N.B. This will still leave Boat Beacon in sailing mode.

There is a User guide in the app and online here:-

https://boatbeaconapp.com/ais/SiriHelp/SiriHelp.html

Pocket Mariner live AIS Coverage

Our ship tracking network uses a global network of shore and ship-based radio stations, which receive signals from the AIS system that ships use to broadcast their positions as they travel. Our receiver stations share the ship positions with our cloud-based data server, which pushes them onwards and out to our apps and web services.

We are continuously working on increasing the coverage of our real-time AIS receiver station network. During the last three months we have added more than 100 new AIS stations across 5 continents bringing our live ship coverage to over 80,000 ships. We have supplied the AIS receiver for free for many of these sites. New volunteers are always welcome to join our AIS Network.

Here is a  list of the most recent stations we have set up  and a snapshot of our global coverage Q1 2022

America

Hudson Bay, NJ
Sakonnet River in Rhode Island
St Lawrence Seaway
British Columbia
Miami, Florida, US (2 new stations)
Antioch, CA.
Stockton,CA
St Bartholomew (Caribbean)
Dominian Republic.
Buenaventura, Colombia.
Lake Erie
Several stations in Uruguay
Several stations in Mexico

Europe

The whole of Norway
The whole of Denmark
The whole of Finland
Scicily, Italy
Turku, Finland
Maasbracht, Netherlands
Ijsselmeer, Nethrlands
Ust-Luga, Russia
St Petersburgh, Russia
Edinburgh, Scotland
Over 30 new stations in and around Sweden.
Eastbourne, UK
Scilly Isles, UK
Isle of Man, UK
Lowestoft, UK
Alicante, SP
Faro, Portugal

Africa

Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Canary Islands
Dakar, Senegal

Middle East

Kuwait
Dubai

Australasia

Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Australia
Nagoya, Osaka, Inland Seas, Japan
Singapore
Indonesia
Ho Chi Min City, Vitenam
Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

If you are interested in adding coverage for your area, please read our Cover Your Area information – we can often provide the equipment free of charge.

Improving Compass accuracy on iOS devices

The internal compass of your iPhone is a very useful tool. Unfortunately, it is very easy for the compass to become unaligned, particularly when indoors. The following are a few solutions to help improve the compass accuracy of your iPhone or iPad device.

Remove all Magnetic Material from your device

Your iPhone contains a Magnetometer that is used by the internal compass. Any interference from a nearby magnetic source may affect the compass readings. Make sure to remove any nearby magnets. Keep in mind iPhone cases and pop sockets often have magnetic parts built in. If your device becomes unaligned due to the magnet then removing the source will help but you may need to restart your device.

Rotate Your Phone in a Figure 8 Motion

One of the calibration methods your compass utilizes includes motion over time, whether you are walking around or pulling your phone out of your pocket. One trick to help re-align the compass is to shake your phone or rotate it in a large figure eight motion. For a small misalignment this will often help fine-tune the accuracy of your compass.

Enable Compass Calibration in the settings app

In iOS 13 and later there is a privacy setting to allow your compass to use location services to help calibrate your devices compass. By default, this setting is disabled. Enabling this feature is highly recommended for good compass accuracy.

  1. Open the “Settings” app
  2. Tap “Privacy”
  3. Tap “Location Services”
  4. Tap “System Services”
  5. Enable “Compass Calibration”

Disable and Re-enable Location Services

Refreshing Location Services can help your device clear any GPS errors from previous readings. Another trick to improve compass accuracy is to simple disable and re-enable Location Services.

  1. Open the “Settings” app
  2. Tap “Privacy”
  3. Tap “Location Services”
  4. Disable and Re-enable “Location Services”

Restart your iPhone

When your compass becomes misaligned sometimes the fastest method of realignment is to simple restart your device. This may seem tedious, but it is the quickest and most reliable method for restoring your compass to provide optimal readings.

How to Restart Your iPhone

Disable True North in the settings app

By default, your device will utilize True North for all compass readings. Depending on the compass reading you are trying to get it may make sense to temporarily disable True North and use Magnetic North for a while.

  1. Open the “Settings” app
  2. Scroll down and tap on the “Compass” app
  3. Disable “Use True North”

Hopefully some of these tips help you attain accurate compass readings from your device. If your device continues to have issues, there may be an additional software or hardware problems with the phone itself. Please contact Apple Support for any questions about calibrating your compass or to determine if your device may need repair.

SeaNav and an autonomous boat

We have downsized the Pocket Mariner test boat from a catamaran cruiser to a catamaran dinghy (Dart 18) and are doing our bit for Net Zero and our ears with an electric outboard.

We chose the Torqeedo 1103C which has slightly more power than an e-Propulsion and also had the benefit of being available rather than on a 6 month back order. It is a revolution compared to a petrol outboard. Totally silent apart from the sound of water flowing past the hull, instant start, no oil or smelly petrol and fumes. A real joy, here is it in action on the river Wye:-

As well as using the test boat for testing our marine navigation apps we got inspired to take the boat to the next level and see if we could automate it and ultimately use SeaNav to control it to follow a SeaNav route.

Two steps:-

  1. A bluetooth LE enabled autohelm attachment to control the outboard direction
  2. Add the bluetooth driver capability to SeaNav and get it to maintain course and change course at Waypoints.

A possible 3rd step is to add a remote throttle control too so we can go fully autonomous!

This article covers step 1.

Step 1. Bluetooth iOS remote for Navico TP5000

Autohelm units are very expensive ( over £400) and none offer remote bluetooth control. We couldn’t find one that supported remote NMEA0183 control either. So we bought a second hand Navico TP5000 unit off eBay and adapted it to support Bluetooth using an Arduino BLE nano33 board and 3 relays attached inside the housing to the switches. The project design, instructions and code is here https://github.com/electricpocket/autopilot. This could also be adapted to control a Raymarine Autohelm unit.

Here is the Navico TP5000 in manual mode attached to the boat and Torqeedo outboard:-

and here is the TP50000 controlled with our iPhone autopilot app:-

Next is to test this on the water and then move on to Step 2…..

Please contact help@pocketmariner.com if you have any questions or suggestions.