Free (almost) Garmin AIS 300

[Red Raven]

I replaced my AIS300 (receive only) unit with a new AiS800 this off season. Hate to throw the old one away as it is perfectly good. It’s yours for the cost of shipping. Send me a PM with shipping info if interested.

Curt

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

Curt, that's a generous offer for whoever takes it.

I have the AIS600. Has Garmin enhanced their newer model over the 600? I assume it still transmits thru your VHF antenna?

Bob

Ps: having an additional signature is smart. Always having your location known is good, but bad for some... fishermen, and those who relish their privacy.

 

[ixlr8]

Curt, that's a generous offer for whoever takes it.

I have the AIS600. Has Garmin enhanced their newer model over the 600? I assume it still transmits thru your VHF antenna?

Bob

Ps: having an additional signature is smart. Always having your location known is good, but bad for some... fishermen, and those who relish their privacy.

There is a feature where you can add a switch to turn off the transmit side of the 600 or 800 if for some reason you want/need privacy. Although getting to the AIS to add the switch might be a bit of a nightmare, I know it is on my boat.

 

[chicagosam]

Curt,
I will take you up on your generous offer.
I'll PM you my details. Let me know where to send the money.
Also, if I upgrade to an AIS transciever I'll pay it forward on this forum.
Thanks,
Sam

 

[Red Raven]

Curt, that's a generous offer for whoever takes it.

I have the AIS600. Has Garmin enhanced their newer model over the 600? I assume it still transmits thru your VHF antenna?

Bob

Ps: having an additional signature is smart. Always having your location known is good, but bad for some... fishermen, and those who relish their privacy.

Hi Bob,

I don’t know the difference between the 600 and 800. The 600 was no longer available so the 800 was the only option. The 800 transmits through the existing vhf antenna and has an integrated gps antenna so it was completely plug and play with the existing cables after being programmed with boat name and MMSI number via our home desktop computer. The 800 has optional connections for external VHf and GPS antennas but I did not use them.

Note to all: I have a 7212 GPSMAP which is not listed in the Garmin compatibility chart for the AIS800. I called Garmin and they assured me as long as it had NMEA2000 it would work. The reason it is not listed is just because the 7212 is a discontinued model. In any case the 800 works just fine. The upgrade is straight forward and not difficult though the mounting holes do not align. The 800 is actually smaller than the 300 but has connections on both sides making cable routing a bit different but workable if you have the cable length.

Curt

 

[Rocky]

I upgraded to a Garmin AIS 800 last year to our R29s. I had read that the "weak link" in the new 800 is the internal GPS antenna. being that my black box was to be mounted pretty low in the boat, I chose to add a separate GPS antenna. I mounted the antenna "under deck" near the helm and it has worked flawlessly.

I have thought about adding a switch in the power to the black box, for those times I prefer to remain anonymous, but I haven't done that yet.

The only issue I have had is after I update the Garmin software, it seems to stop working. if I Reboot my AIS by pulling the fuse, all becomes right with the world again.

I hope yours works as well as mine. I enjoy the added safety, and it is fun to see it on the phone apps as well.

Thanks!

Rocky

 

[jagizzi]

I am going from memory here so I could be incorrect but I don't think that you need to turn off power to the unit to stop transmitting. They have a pin that if pulled to ground stops the transmit function, that way you can still receive. I am pretty sure it is the same on the 600.

 

[ixlr8]

I am going from memory here so I could be incorrect but I don't think that you need to turn off power to the unit to stop transmitting. They have a pin that if pulled to ground stops the transmit function, that way you can still receive. I am pretty sure it is the same on the 600.

Yup, same on the 600, stops the transmission but leaves the unit powered up to receive other boats locations. That was the pin I was referring to adding a switch to control transmission.

 

[Red Raven]

The AIS 300 has been claimed and is no longer available.

Curt