I’m pretty excited, because I’ve a couple of new toys coming my way.
One is the Maritech Virtual Lifeline. It’s a man-overboard alarm that shuts down the engine. I’ve written about this sort of thing before, both at MadMariner and here at Navagear.
Over the summer, I used a competing product—the Autotether—extensively, and determined that it [...]

It’s interesting for me to monitor which pages get the most views. Naturally the Navagear front page gets the most traffic, but beyond that…which individual blog entries attract visitors?
The results may surprise you.
Refilling disposable propane cylinders appeals to lots of outdoorsy types, not just boaters, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that it’s been the [...]

If you’re at all interested in Class B AIS, today’s Panbo is a must-read.
I’m a bit perplexed by the US Coast Guard’s newly announced AIS Class B guideline: vessel names will not be transmitted. Wow! Why not?
Here’s a slide presented Friday afternoon at a special meeting with the Coast Guard’s Jorge Arroyo and the [...]

Ben Ellison over at Panbo is reporting the following:
Today two reliable sources told me that all five FCC commissioners have now signed off on Class B AIS for US waters, though neither knows when the Order will become effective. The final step should be an announcement in the FCC Daily Digest.

Good news for those awaiting [...]

Well…Sort of.
Shine Micro has figured out a way to sell some of their Class B AIS units without violating FCC rules. Clever!

CLASS B AIS UPDATE: Shine Micro is offering the RadarPlus AIS-BX Class B AIS configured for Receive-Only operation to U.S. boaters at a reduced price, with the option to activate transmit features upon [...]

Normally, Navagear avoids political issues, except when they have a direct impact on cruising gear-n-gadgets, as with FCC certification of Class B AIS devices.
But I’m going to make an exception for this story. I have no doubt this new effort by the Department of Homeland Security will evoke strong feelings among recreational mariners, one way [...]

Got a thoughtful comment today on my “AIS Class B Naysayers, Unite!” from back in November. In his comment, Commercial mariner Al Murray shares his point of view on navigational safety, and he makes several good points.
Here is my reply to Mr. Murray:
The thing is, I doubt we actually disagree on very much [...]

Hey…this is exactly what’s supposed to happen with this whole online internet village whatchamacallit. One thing leads to another, and then another after that, and they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on. It’s great!
In this case, Fred Pot’s skepticism about Class B AIS, which [...]

At the Pacific Marine Expo, I saw the Simrad A150 and ACR AIS-300 Class-B AIS units in person. Cooool…

I’m obligated to remind readers that they are not FCC-authorized for sale in the United States yet, but according to Panbo, that could change before the end of December.
We seem to write something about AIS here periodically, [...]