User's Manual

34
7 TROUBLESHOOTING
The transmitting LED (Green color) is not illuminated, why?
 The transmitting interval of a Class B transponder is 3 minutes if the speed of
the vessel is less than 2 knots. If the speed exceeds 2 knots, the transmitting
interval will be 30 seconds. For each transmission, the channel indicator will
flash once quickly. The green light from the Tx indicator could be missed if not
observed carefully.
 For AIS transmitting, GPS information from GPS antenna is required. Without
GPS information, AIS will not transmit AIS signal. Please check if your GPS
antenna is connected and setup correctly.
CAMINO-108 receives AIS signals normally, but no one in the
surrounding can see me, why?
 AIS Class B transmission range limitation: an AIS Class B transponder
transmitting range of 5-7 miles in perfect conditions. The AIS receiver in the
transponder will typically see Class A vessels that are 20-30 miles away or even
more in excellent conditions. The major reason is that all AIS Class B
transponders transmit at 2 watts vs. the 12.5 watts that Class A transponders
typically use. This difference in power impacts on the transmission range of
each transponder type. For this reason, it is quite possible that Class A vessel
can be seen, but Class B vessel might not be seen.
 VHF antennas interference: if you are using a dedicated AIS/VHF antenna for
your transponder, be sure that it is placed at least 6 ft (1.83 m) away from
other VHF antennas or vertical metal objects and ideally install the antenna on
a different vertical plane from other VHF antennas. In several tests, mounting