In 2015 I purchased an AIS receiver for a trip up the Inside Passage. This posting is largely an upgrade of the posting for that installation. I suspected at the time I might look back on a reciever as a false economy, and that turned out to be the case. I want to be SEEN as well as to see others. This year I purchased a Vesper XB 8000 AIS transceiver to replace the perfectly functional Digital Yacht AIS receiver that I had benefitted from over the previous three seasons.
My decision to go with Vesper was based on the reputation of their product and their customer service, and also because the device makes the data on my network visible via a WiFi gateway. This should make it easier to pull off tracking and route data, and to display AIS targets on tablet or phone as well as the chart plotter. The XB-8000 also provides an easily managed anchor alarm, accessible by tablet or smart phone. I won’t have to sit in the cockpit all night watching the chart plotter… the terror of a dragging anchor will be accessible from my berth.
