It was only a matter of time. After all, an AIS receiver isn’t much more than a VHF radio with a bit of logic thrown in. Panbo’s Ben Ellison has the scoop on this new unit from Standard Horizon. Please note that this is an AIS receiver only; it is not a Class B transceiver.

Even so, this might be an ideal solution for owners of boats that aren’t ready to mount Class B AIS aboard, but that recognize the benefit of receiving the AIS signals other vessels are broadcasting. It occurs to me that this all-in-one unit would have been a LOT easier to install aboard my own boat, Two Lucky Fish.

Two Lucky Fish is equipped with a Raymarine C-80 chartplotter, a unit with only one NMEA port on the back. I had to come up with my own crazy wiring schematic to get AIS data and DSC messages into the unit while also providing GPS coordinates to the VHF. What a hassle that was! See for yourself:

This Standard Horizon unit could be a tremendous blessing to owners not yet ready to upgrade their core chartplotter. Think about it: No NMEA multiplexer. No antenna splitter. Essentially, just plug the VHF into the chartplotter, set the plotter’s NMEA dataport speed to AIS/38,400 baud, and turn on the AIS layer on your chart view.

Additional features allow you to hail an AIS vessel over DSC at the push of a button. No typing MMSI numbers in one digit at a time! Include goodies like a 30 Watt PA/Loud Hailer with pre-programmed fog signals and you’re talking about a seriously feature-packed piece of gear for MAP (minimum advertised price) of $400. I’m interested!

In fact, even though I have Shine Micro’s excellent Class B AIS equipment aboard, I almost always run it through my PC running Rose Point Coastal Explorer. I would love to have an additional AIS datastream displayed on my Raymarine C-80. Nuts? Maybe. Consider it a backup.