Boat Beacon – Page 3 – Pocket Mariner

Independent trials of the Pocket Mariner AIS Dual channel receiver.

With the help of a ShipPlotter user in Finland we have been able to run side by side tests of our Pocket Mariner Dual Channel AIS receiver with a mainstream commercial brand AIS receiver costing over 3 times the price. We are very pleased with the results, with the Pocket Mariner Dual Channel AIS receiver achieving almost exactly the same coverage/range/data rate of the well known commercial brand. Here are some stats comparing our Pocket Mariner AIS receiver on port 7018 (blue) and the other on port 5378 (red ) and screenshots at the same time of the coverage from the same aerial in Helsinki.

Rate of data received (bits/s)

We also found that the coverage/range for both the commercial AIS receiver and ours was significantly improved using a relatively in-expensive AIS frequency (162MHz) tuned filter and pre-amp on the aerial feed. We used and would recommend the VHF Pre-amp from Spectrum Communications (formerly known as the Garex pre-amp). They start at around £15 for the pcb built one and around £50 for a boxed version. The ship ranges in the screenshots below is approximately 150km (100Miles). The tropospheric conditions were good.

7018 Pocket Mariner Dual Channel AIS Receiver coverage snapshot

5378 Commercial AIS Receiver coverage snapshot

N.B. The buoys at the top of the screen (North) are over 350km away and most likely Synthetic Aids To Navigation being broadcast by a shore based station nearer our aerial.

If you are interested in having a Pocket Mariner Dual Channel AIS receiver please get in touch with us at . support@pocketmariner.com

Row around Singapore Island (RASI), Mission to Seafarers and Boat Beacon AIS tracking

Pocket Mariner are very pleased to be sponsoring the Row around Singapore Island in aid of the Mission to Seafarers .

A group of 40 enthusiasts from the maritime and insurance community in Singapore have come together, to undertake a 24 hour endurance sea challenge, all in aid of the global maritime welfare charity, The Mission to Seafarers.

Mission Row Around Singapore Island (RASI), will see two teams in ocean-going rowing boats attempt the 140km journey, taking on the seas and shipping lanes (not to mention two live military firing ranges) to complete a non-stop circumnavigation of the island of Singapore. The event itself will be held during the 50th anniversary year of Singapore’s independence and will also coincide with Singapore Maritime Week on the 22nd / 23rd April, 2015.

Pocket Mariner have provided their Boat Beacon app to both teams so they can share their position and speed during the event and everyone will be able to follow their progress on our live group tracking web view service.

http://boatbeaconapp.com/portwatch/missionrasi.html. If you would like to add the view to your own web page you can use the following iFrame:-

If you are organising an event or a race and are interested in having live tracking available please contact us :- support@pocketmariner.com

Watermark Round Britain Voyage Summer 2015 and Boat Beacon AIS

Watermark is a Beneteau First 33.7 Cruiser/ Racer currently on a round Britain voyage. She is using Boat Beacon to share her position over internet AIS with friends and family on Boat Watch and our new live iframe “embed” web page that lets you add a map showing your boat’s location to other web pages (e.g. a blog). Use the following as a template, you can set the width and height to fit your page

“<iframe style=”border:none;height:600px;width:1800px;” src=”http://boatbeaconapp.com/see/MMSI?embed=1″></iframe>”

Where MMSI is your boat’s MMSI number (as set in Boat Beacon). If you don’t have an MMSI, we can provide you with an internet AIS one, or you can use your Boat Beacon identity instead starting with BB (see the bottom of My Boat Details in Boat Beacon to find your Boat Beacon id). If you don’t have blog or web site you can also give out a web link to your web page on our site – e.g. http://boatbeaconapp.com/see/MMSI

We wish Malcolm and Watermark a safe and very enjoyable circumnavigation and look forward to following their progress. Here is his current postion :-

Apple Watch – Pocket Mariner apps

We have been working hard to ensure Apple Watch versions of all our marine apps are ready for you as soon as you get your new Apple Watch. Boat Beacon, our signature app, now gives you collision alerts directly on your wrist with CPA time and distance information and a map overview. Check your next waypoint wherever you are on your boat with a compass view, cross track error (XTE), distance and ETA on our SeaNav watch app. Spot nearby boats, track your ferry or a boat of interest and get arrival and departure alerts with our Boat Watch app on Apple Watch.

SeaNav and Boat Beacon Navigation view

SeaNav Waypoint face.

Boat Beacon and SeaNav Compass view

Boat Watch, Boat Beacon and SeaNav map AIS view

As ever – ship photos to help you identify it.

And the great news ….. the watch apps are all free upgrades to our existing apps 🙂

Melbourne to Port Fairy Ocean Yacht Race

Pocket Mariner are pleased to be sponsoring the ORCV’s (The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria) Melbourne to Port Fairy Ocean Yacht Race this Easter. We are providing complimentary copies of our Boat Beacon app to all the entrants and race officials so they can track the fleet over the 135 mile race.

You can view and see the tracks for all the boats live here

http://boatbeaconapp.com/group/ORCV 2015 PORT FAIRY

We have also set up 5 Artificial Aids to Navigation for the start and finish of the race, marking Drapers Reef at the start line, ORCV Virtual Buoy, Point Lonsdale Light, Corsair Rock and Nunn buoy at the finish line.

The AtoN’s are visible in Boat Beacon and our Boat Watch apps.

You can read more about the AtoNs for the race on the ORCV web site here:-

http://www.orcv.org.au/index.php/port-fairy/4413-boat-beacon-ais-smartphone-tablet-app-aids-to-navigation

New AIS Aerial in the Caribbean on St Barts

Our latest AIS aerial on St Barthelemy in the Caribbean has just gone live. If only I could go out and test it! Thanks to Emmanuel at Jicky Marine Service

http://boatbeaconapp.com/station/7017

Our AIS aerial on top of Jicky Marine Service’s office.

Jicky Marine’s office from the other side of the Harbour

Plan of Gustavia looking from the land side out to sea (North is bottom right) showing the office location.

New AIS Aerial at Davidstow Airfield, Cornwall

As part of the ongoing work to improve our global AIS coverage we have installed a new AIS aerial to provide better real time coverage for the seas around Cornwall in the UK. There is a disused airfield at Davidstow. It was Coastal Command’s highest airfield in the UK at 300m (1000′) above sea level; a perfect place to get a long range view of the surrounding sea, to the North, West and South of Cornwall. We used a Digital Yacht AIS Net base station for the AIS receiver with a Shakespeare 6db AIS tuned aerial. There is no internet connection at the museum so we used a Huawei E3551 3G dongle and the excellent EE 3/4G data service to backhaul the AIS data to our servers. You can check the live coverage from the new aerial here:- http://boatbeaconapp.com/station/5353

Here is my son installing the aerial on the tower at the airfield.

The DY AIS receiver hooked up at the base of the aerial.

and live ships – 10,000 square miles of coverage including two major ports at Falmouth and Plymouth 🙂

Many thanks to Steve at Davidstow Airfield and Cornwall at War Museum who is kindly letting us use his tower to mount the aerial on (giving us another 12m (40′) of elevation 🙂 . The museum is very well worth visiting if you are in the area and even if you are not.

Transas iSailor app now powered by Pocket Mariner’s live AIS service

Pocket Mariner’s real time AIS data and photo API service has been selected by Transas , a global leader in marine navigation systems, to use with their iSailor iPhone and iPad app. The latest version 1.7.0 of their app now provides a real time map view of ships around you with instant details including name, range and bearing together with a photo of the ship to help you recognise it.

You can get the latest version of iSailor from the app store now

Mikhail Andrianov, Product Manager at Transas says “We are really excited to provide our Transas iSailor users with live AIS data on their charts via the Internet. Pocket Mariner’s live AIS API, SDK and sample code made integration with our product easy and fast. This option makes it possible to show on charts the next AIS target types: AIS Class A, AIS Class B, AtoN (Aids-To-Navigation, virtual or real), Shore Base Stations. This functionality will be useful for users of different kinds: from sailors, boaters or water tourists, – who have no AIS Class B or receivers on board to ship owners, dockers and marine logistics personnel, who need to monitor vessel traffic in a given area. To use this functionality, you will have to have WiFi, 3G or 4G/LTE internet access on your Apple device.” Steve Bennett, Pocket Mariner’s CEO commented: “This is another great endorsement of Pocket Mariner’s “real time” AIS data service and API’s that we use to power our own Marine Navigation Apps and we look forward to providing additional AIS data services enabling Transas’ iSailor users to share their boat’s position and course in real time using our internet AIS transmit and track api’s”.

Portsmouth Pilots choose Pocket Mariner’s AIS Live and Replay services

Pocket Mariner’s real time AIS data service, FleetWatch, has been selected by the Pilots at Portsmouth International Port to use with their Portable Pilot Units (PPUs) running SevenCs ORCA Pilot G2 solution. The Pilots use Pocket Mariner’s real time enhanced AIS data feed to display live ship positions and courses on and around their client’s ship as they travel out to pilot it. The enhanced feed ensures all the vessel information including name (so you can call the ship via VHF radio) and dimensions is instantly available as soon as the PPU connects unlike VHF AIS where it can take several minutes to acquire the extra data. Ben McInnes, Harbour Master and Portsmouth Pilot said: “The real time internet AIS feed allows us to “virtually board” the ship and assess the situation before we even get there.” Portsmouth have also selected Pocket Mariner’s AIS Replay service to review and playback incidents and for training purposes.

Steve Bennett, Pocket Mariner’s CEO commented: “This is a great endorsement of Pocket Mariner’s “real time” AIS data service that we use to power our own Marine Navigation Apps and we look forward to them using our additional AIS data services including geo-fence event triggering and instant history replay capabilities “.

Please contact us at business@pocketmariner.com to learn more about how our FleetWatch and PortWatch service can help you.

Here is a screenshot of live ship traffic around Portsmouth using the Pocket Mariner AIS service and SeaNav charting app:-

To learn more about Pocket Mariner’s AIS data services, SDK and API’s please email us at business@pocketmariner.com

New NAVIOTAB+ tablet with built-in Boat Beacon for AIS

We have been working with IntelliWeather Inc. who have been developing an exciting new marine-rated rugged and waterproof navigation tablet device. The device is now launched and we are delighted they chose to build in our Boat Beacon AIS – Marine Navigation app to provide a fully operational AIS collision avoidance system. Here are some more details on this exciting new device.

A new IP66 rated waterproof and dirtproof Android tablet for marine use provides an all-in-one solution at a fraction of the cost of traditional separate marine electronic devices. It provides navigation, AIS collision avoidance, weather radar, weather bulletins, communications, entertainment, and optional fish finder/sounding capability in one portable device.

The NAVIOTAB+ tablet has been introduced by IntelliWeather Inc., a provider of weather instrumentation, weather display systems, and weather content and comes pre-loaded with ready to run applications and navigation charts for the United States. The user has options to purchase additional navigation charts for most regions of the world provided by Navionics. In addition, in an agreement with PocketMariner of the United Kingdom, the NAVIOTAB+ comes ready to use with a fully operational AIS collision avoidance system. Making use of the built-in GPS and Internet connectivity capabilities to provide a real-time AIS radar like display of vessels near your position in highly trafficked ports and navigable waterways worldwide. This provides an extra level of accuracy and protection allowing you to “see and be seen” with or without MMSI registration.

The NAVIOTAB+ also comes equipped with free weather radar plots and weather bulletins in the USA, including marine weather bulletins. The data is provided free by NOAA and has no subscription requirements. All that is required for live weather radar data and live AIS is an Internet connection via the built-in 3G/4G data capability of the NAVIOTAB+. This can be via a SIM card and most any cellular data carrier that supports a “bring your own” plan for connectivity. Alternately, NAVIOTAB+ can communicate via any 3G/4G capable cellphone that is WiFi hotspot enabled, or any other WiFi Internet connection.

When equipped with a SIM card and cellular data/voice plan, users can initiate and receive telephone calls using the built-in speaker/microphone, earphone, or use a Bluetooth enabled speaker or headset like they would with any cell-phone. Web browsing, email, and MMS messaging are also standard features.

As an entertainment system, NAVIOTAB+ provides a built-in FM radio tuner as well as streaming music services such as Pandora Internet Radio (free) and Sirius XM radio (subscription). Both come installed and can be operated without external antennas. Movies can also be played from streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and others as well as locally stored files.

Unlike traditional marine electronics, the NAVIOTAB+ is not married to your boat, it can be taken “on the go” anywhere as a regular tablet and can also serve as an automobile navigation system via the built-in Google Maps application.

To round out the features, with the addition of a DEEPER Bluetooth enabled transducer, fish finding, water temperature, and depth sounding capability can be added to the NAVIOTAB+.
A powerful 10,000 mAH Lithium-Ion battery provides operation which can exceed 8 hours. The tablet can also be continuously charged/powered directly from your boat via the included Blue Sea Systems marine rated 12 volt cigarette lighter to USB power adapter and the included USB power cable.
Sporting a Quad-core 1.2 GHz A9 processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 8GB of FLASH storage, the NAVIOTAB+ is fast and responsive. Storage can be expanded up to an additional 32GB with insertion of a micro SD storage card. The bright 7″ screen is protected by toughened scratch resistant glass and can be seen in daylight, plus offers automatic dimming for night use. The built-in GPS receiver system does not require an external antenna, and is accurate to within 3 meters (10 feet).
Weighing just 1.36 pounds, NAVIOTAB+ is easily portable, and easy to secure to windshields, dashboards, and rails with a wide variety of readily available tablet mounting systems. It also comes with a palm rest/strap to enable portable use.
Tally up and compare the cost of all the separate marine rated devices that are replaced by the NAVIOTAB+ and you’ll understand why it makes the most sense for the recreational boater that doesn’t want to spend a fortune on getting their boat equipped. For the professional mariner, NAVIOTAB+ also makes a great backup system for your bridge, or as an emergency navigation system.
The NAVIOTAB+ has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $649.00.

Dealer inquiries are invited.

For further information these resources are available.

PRODUCT WEBSITE: http://naviotab.com

SPEC SHEET: http://naviotab.com/docs/NavioTab+_flyer.pdf