Installing AIS 300 on R-21EC ?

[baz]

Subject: Installing AIS 300 on R-21EC ?

For R-21EC owners who have installed a Garmin AIS 300 or 600 how did the install go and can you provide details where the unit was installed and the needed power connection.

I do have a NMEA 2K backbone already installed so it should be straight forward for me to add in a Drop Tee so that the AIS unit can talk to my Garmin 741XS.

Thanks for any help with this.

I'm assuming installing the AIS 300 (in my case) can be done by locating it close to my Garmin VHF 200 radio for the antenna connection, then run a NMEA 2000 drop cable from the AIS 300 to my already installed NMEA 2000 network. The one unknown for me at this time is how to connect power to the AIS 300. Can I easily steal power from another device or will it be necessary and safer to run a separate power connection ?

 

[SGIDAVE]

Subject: Installing AIS 300 on R-21EC ?

For R-21EC owners who have installed a Garmin AIS 300 or 600 how did the install go and can you provide details where the unit was installed and the needed power connection.

I do have a NMEA 2K backbone already installed so it should be straight forward for me to add in a Drop Tee so that the AIS unit can talk to my Garmin 741XS.

Thanks for any help with this.

I'm assuming installing the AIS 300 (in my case) can be done by locating it close to my Garmin VHF 200 radio for the antenna connection, then run a NMEA 2000 drop cable from the AIS 300 to my already installed NMEA 2000 network. The one unknown for me at this time is how to connect power to the AIS 300. Can I easily steal power from another device or will it be necessary and safer to run a separate power connection ?

Hello Barry,

I've not installed the Garmin AIS 300. Have you considered Simrad RS35 which is an AIS-receive enabled VHF radio. Have you considered simply changing to another AIS-receive VHF radio? The Simrad RS35 is cheaper (http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?pa ... id=2199069) than the GArmin AIS300 and, of course, takes up less precious space on your 21EC. The Standard Horizon 2200 is an excellent choice too - it just costs more than the RS35.

If cost is of of less importance, consider the Garmin AIS 300 Modular VHF (http://www.hodgesmarine.com/Garmin-VHF- ... 075700.htm) which would mount below the v-berth and completely remove the clutter on the shelf above the helm. The kit comes with a remote speaker too.

You could sell your new Garmin VHF 200 to defray the costs of the upgrade.

You've probably already run through these permutations of the AIS upgrade.

Back to your AIS 300 questions...it will need a separate 12VDC power supply...easy to provide if mounted under the V berth. It would be "switched" on/off when the N2K network is powered on. The dimensions of the AIS300 look too big to squeeze it in beside the current VHF. Then you would need to run a 'patch' cord Coaxial to the existing VHF to get the antenna wired in. Gosh, the modular VHF/AIS 300 kit would save that step...just disconnect the current VHF antenna wire, drop it down to the V berth, reroute the current VHF power wires to the new setup and BINGO you're done! No new circuit needed.

And you'd have new space on the helm shelf for something else! Yippee 😀

dave

 

[Scuffy]

You might want to look at Vesper Marine's AIS units. The XB 8000 has built in Wi-Fi so you can view your AIS info on you IPAD or what ever. We decided that we had enough stuff going through our chart plotter. We opted for the 850 model which is standalone and had it's own screen. Reviews on Vesper's equipment have very good. Check them out.
https://www.vespermarine.com/

 

[baz]

I have installed my Garmin AIS 300 and it was very straight forward.

I placed it under the roof shelf the VHF 200 radio sits on. With a small 3/4" hole drilled behind the radio the AIS 300's 3 cables can be routed up; one going to the radio and the other two (power and N2K cables) located nicely along the edge of the window casing (almost hidden from view by doing this) and held with plastic clips and eventually down to the electrical locker. Both the power and N2K cables were long enough with the power cable going to the floor to the fuse block with about 3" to spare.

The physical AIS 300 unit was actually a lot smaller than what I had visualized.

I noted that the AIS 300 is continually checking or looking for the receive data as its green Rx LED flashes continually. 🙂

At this point I'm happy with my AIS 300 installation. Next step is to see how well it works when out on the water.

 

[SGIDAVE]

I have installed my Garmin AIS 300 and it was very straight forward.


At this point I'm happy with my AIS 300 installation. Next step is to see how well it works when out on the water.

Good Morning Barry,

Can you post pics?

thanks,

dave

 

[baz]

Will do.... and insert them here later.

[EDIT]

The AIS 300 is mounted under the radio & Raymarine p70R shelf. Note that it does not interfere with visibility through the windshield as the unit is barely 1.5" in thickness.

The AIS 300's power and NMEA 2K cables are routed around the edge of the windshield and held in place with plastic cable clips. The windshield screws were employed to secure the clips so no drilling was required. The two cables are one behind the other as there's room for this. So only one cable is actually seen with the eye. The cables eventually are routed into the canvas that hides other cables as they descend into the electrical locker box so they are mostly hidden from sight. The NMEA 2K cable hooks into the existing 2K network by removing the end terminator and inserting a Tee for the AIS 300. The power cable (red and black wires) reach down to the fuse block and are attached it its +ive and -ive terminals allowing the AIS 300's power cable inline fuse to remain.

AIS info shows up on the Garmin 741xs screen displays

 

[baz]

If you need further photos let me know.

 

[baz]

At the Roche Harbour Rendezvous this past week I had Garmin check my AIS 300 installation and its operations. I had them do this as my AIS 300 was not picking up any targets on my Garmin 741xs chart plotter device.

Garmin's status...
1) The installation was faultless. Garmin found no issues with my installation whatsoever.
2) The AIS 300 device however was not displaying in the list of N2K devices ?????
3) Garmin shifted the AIS 300's N2K cable to where the Fusion radio connected to the N2K backbone as the Fusion was showing in the N2K list of devices. However, the AIS 300 unit still was not displaying in the N2K list.
4) Garmin replace the AIS 300's N2K cable with another cable known to be good, but still no luck in getting the AIS 300 to show up in the N2K list of devices.
5) Conclusion: The AIS 300 unit is faulty and needs to be replaced under warranty.
6) Garmin Tech person told me to call Garmin Support at 800-800-1020 and explain what was done at the Roche Harbour event (Garmin Support is already aware of the event and that Garmin tech folks were swarming all over the Ranger Tugs) and get a replacement for my AIS 300.

So, for anyone else installing an AIS 300 the first thing to do, after installing it, is to verify that it displays in the N2K device list on the Garmin chart plotter. This is the simple first check.

 

[baz]

My AIS 300 replacement is on its way to me (hopefully).

FYI... This replacement process was straight forward but does incur some cost.

Garmin offers two methods to replace a defective unit.

1) You send the defective unit to them and then they send the replacement. Garmin indicates this can take several weeks unless expedited mailing is paid for.

2) Garmin will immediately ship a replacement after customer places a deposit with them to cover the replacement's cost and then customer can send the defective unit back to Garmin at customers expense. After Garmin receives the defective unit they credit the CC. Garmin advises to cover shipping with Insurance for $500 (in my case).

I selected the second method and was requested to place a $500 deposit via my CC. So I'm now awaiting the new AIS 300 unit. So far no Email notice from Garmin has been received about the unit shipping to me and it's now been almost 3 days since chatting with the Garmin Support in Oregon. So I just hope all is well and the unit is in fact on its way to me.

BTW... I asked Garmin about frequency of having customers returning defective and DOA AIS units to them. The response was that it is rare for the AIS 300 but quite common for the AIS 600.

[EDIT]
I called Garmin about shipping info and was told it was on its way and will deliver this Friday via UPS. I mentioned I had not received any shipping notice and was told that their Auto Emails don't always happen... 😱 The AIS 300 is shipping from GARMIN INTERNATIONAL, OLATHE, KS, US.

 

[baz]

I received my AIS 300 replacement today and installed it by simply unscrewing the old unit's 4 screws slightly and sliding the unit free. I then disconnected the 4 cables from it and inserted them into the new unit and screwed the new unit it back in place.

The box the replacement AIS 300 came in was kind of damaged though 😱 ...and just hoped it was was not damaged in transit via UPS. :shock:

I turned on my Garmin 741xs Chart Plotter and selected to show all the N2K devices.... Settings->Communications->NMEA 2000 Setup->Device List, and YES, the AIS 300 unit showed up. 😀

This proved to me without question that the original AIS 300 unit I had was indeed faulty, just as the Garmin technician at the Roche Harbour had concluded.

So, now with my boat in my home driveway and some 1/2 mile from the water I can (or should be able to) test the AIS.

It seems AIS targets show up as green pointing triangles and presumably the pointing is the targets course direction, right ?

I was hoping the green triangles would have some text showing the boat's name etc ! Should there be any text ?

I then set the AIS alarm distance to 2 nm and immediately got an alarm. I presume this was for the target lit up in red, right ?

Here are some pics of the screen as I explored the AIS feature from my land based R-21EC with VHF antenna in its vertical position.

When I select any one of the green triangles with my finger the 741xs would display "Unknown Vessel" or some such words. Is this what is expected ?

Thanks for any insights to what I've posted here. 🙂

 

[SGIDAVE]

Hello BArry,

I believe standard convention is that the GREEN triangles signify "SAFE" vessels either because they are further away than your currently set 'alarm' and/or they are traveling in a 'safe' direction compared to your position or heading. Of course, the RED vessels are either too close or on a possible collision course with your present heading (or BOTH conditions apply). The triangles point in the direction of travel of the AIS vessels.

Have fun!

dave

 

[baz]

When at Roche Harbour last week I asked Herb (Willie's Tug) about my AIS 300 not working. He said try it while at the dock and I should see his boat by name. So when testing my AIS 300 today none of the green triangles indicated a boat's name and all displayed as "Unknown Vessel". Does a boat with AIS Tx/Rx have to do something for their boat's name to show up on another boat's AIS screen's triangles or in the AIS list when viewing the AIS target's details ?

 

[stwendl]

Ais sent out two package types at different intervals. One type sent out less frequent contains info about he boat. The second type sends out updates about the movement and position of the object. This is done to keep channel traffic to a minimum. I don't recall the interval specs but think it's 2 minutes and 10 minutes. The ais 300 is receiver only, while 600 als transmits. I think there are some commercial units with more features. There may be some receivers that may not accept the commercial or the 10 minute info traffic and only show positions. You have to wait some time to receive all the info before that is displayed. Some boats may only transmit limited.

 

[baz]

Hmmmm, after several hours I tried the AIS 300 again and this time my 741xs did display AIS target details such as the boat's name.... I guess it takes time for the AIS 300 to consume data for it to display the details.

 

[captstu]

Shearwater, a R-25, original equipment Standard Horizon VHF failed - and I replaced it with a Standard Horizon GX2200. While I'm not at the boat, it should fit since the cut template seems the same size.

What wire connections do I use to hook the VHF/AIS to the Garman chart plotter. Apparently this VHF speaks NMEA 138 HS - and before I cut and connect, I'd like to double check.