Thank you for buying this AIS receiver. This product has been engineered to offer you the highest level of performance and durability and we hope that it will provide many years of reliable service. We constantly strive to achieve the highest possible quality standards, should you encounter any problems with this product, please contact your dealer who will be pleased to offer whatever assistance you require.
Table of contents Table of figures 1 Notices ..................................................................................................1 Figure 1 1.1 Safety warnings ......................................................................................1 Figure 2 Items included in the product..................................................... 3 AIS receiver overview................................................................ 4 1.2 General notices ........................................
Notices 1 Notices ! When reading this manual please pay attention to warnings marked with the warning triangle shown on the left. These are important messages for safety, installation and usage of the product. Failure to do so can result in personal injury and / or AIS receiver malfunction. Caution: The antenna should not be co-located or operated in conjunction with any other transmitting antenna. The required antenna impedance is 50Ω. Warranty 1.
About your AIS receiver 2 About your AIS receiver 2.1 About AIS The marine Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a location and vessel information reporting system. It allows vessels equipped with AIS to automatically and dynamically share and regularly update their position, speed, course and other information such as vessel identity with similarly equipped vessels.
About your AIS receiver 2.3 What's in the box? • Support tools CD Figure 1 shows the items included with your AIS receiver purchase. The following sections give a brief overview of each item. Please ensure all items are present and if any of the items are not present contact your dealer. The CD supplied with the package contains the USB drivers to enable use of the AIS receiver via its USB interface. Also included on the CD is the product manual.
About your AIS receiver Figure 2 shows the AIS receiver mounting holes. Please refer to section 3.2 for details of how to mount the AIS receiver. Electrical connections The AIS receiver has the following connections provided by the attached cables: • Power supply Status indicator • NMEA0183 data port for connection to chart plotters • USB for connection to a PC • VHF antenna connector.
Installation 3 Installation In addition to the items provided with your AIS receiver the following items will be required for installation: 3.1 Preparing for installation VHF antenna Figure 4 shows a typical installation configuration for the AIS receiver. Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the system elements and their connections prior to attempting installation. VHF Antenna Chart plotter Laptop Connection to a suitable VHF antenna will be required for the AIS receiver to operate.
Installation Chart plotter To display received AIS position reports as other vessels on your chart plotter, you will need to connect your AIS receiver to your chart plotter. Please refer to the user manual supplied with your chart plotter for details of how to connect and configure your chart plotter for use with AIS devices. For general guidance your chart plotter should be configured to accept NMEA data at 38400 baud (sometimes referred to as 'NMEA HS' in the plotter configuration menu).
Installation • It is recommended that the AIS receiver is installed in a 'below decks' environment. 50 mm 80 mm • The product is supplied with two self tapping screws for attachment of the AIS receiver to a suitable surface. Please refer to Figure 6 for guidance. • The AIS receiver should be mounted in a location where the indicator is readily visible as this provides important information on the status of the AIS receiver. 65.5 mm Figure 5 Page 7 33.
Installation Step 2 - Connecting the VHF antenna Route the cable from the VHF antenna to the AIS receiver and connect to the VHF connector on the AIS receiver as shown in Figure 7. A standard marine band VHF antenna or AIS antenna should be used with the AIS receiver. The connector type on the AIS receiver is SO239. Your chosen VHF antenna requires a PL259 connector to mate with this. If your VHF antenna does not use this type of connector please contact your dealer for details of available adaptors.
Installation Step 3 - Connecting to a chart plotter The NMEA0183 data port provides the connection to your chart plotter and consists of four wires colour coded as shown in the table below and in Figure 8. Connect the two ‘Transmit’ wires to the appropriate connections on your chart plotter. Please refer to your chart plotter manual for more information.
Installation Connection to a PC Step 4 - Connecting to a power supply The AIS receiver is supplied with a USB connector for connection to a PC. If your PC requires USB drivers to operate with the AIS receiver these can be found on the CD provided with the product. The AIS receiver requires a 12V or 24V power supply typically provided by the vessel's battery. When inserting the USB connector into a PC for the first time, you are likely to be prompted to select the drivers for the USB device.
Operation 4 Operation 4.1 Using the AIS receiver Status indicator Once the unit has been installed it is ready for use. Providing other vessels with AIS transceivers installed are within radio range of your vessel you should see their details appear on your chart plotter or PC. Specific details of how to configure your chart plotter to make use of the AIS receiver features will be given in your chart plotter manual.
Troubleshooting 5 Troubleshooting Issue Possible cause and remedy No data is being received by the chart plotter • • • Check that the power supply is connected correctly. Check that the connections to the chart plotter are correct. Check that the VHF antenna is correctly connected in accordance with the instructions in the manual The indicator is not illuminated • Check that the power supply is connected correctly.
Specifications 6 Specifications Receiver Sensitivity Better than -112dBm at 20% Packet Error Rate Parameter Value Environmental Operating temperature: -25ºC to +55ºC Dimensions 80 x 65.5 x 33.25 mm (L x W x H) IPx2 Weight 200g (AIS receiver unit only) Ingress Protection rating Power DC (9.6V - 28.8V) Average power consumption <1.5W Peak current rating 200mA Electrical Interfaces USB 2.
Warranty 7 Warranty 1 Year Limited Warranty This product is warranted against factory defects in material and workmanship for a period of 1 (One) Year from date of purchase or receipt as a gift. During the warranty period ACR Electronics, Inc. will repair or, at its option, replace the unit at no cost to you for labor, materials and return transportation from ACR. For further assistance, please contact our Technical Service Department at ACR Electronics, Inc.
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