T&T: AIS Class B status

[Jim Healy]

My considered advice is to save yourself some money and simply install a
good two-channel AIS Receiver, like the SeaCAS units out of Washington
State.  
 
I have such a unit and have used AIS from the Great Lakes thru the Gulf of
Mexico and the US East Coast ICW.  It's particularly useful on open water
and on the Inland Rivers.  However, when you get into large harbors, like
NY, Baltimore, Charleston, Mobile, etc, there are a lot of hits, and it
makes the tool much less useful.  You can't easily pick out which vessels
are moving and which are moored.  The proximity alarm NEVER goes away, and
you wind up turning the alarm off.  You find yourself back on visual rules.

 
Now, just imagine, what happens when a whole bunch of relative fast moving
class B pleasure craft quintuple the number of hits you have to
discriminate....    Significantly degrades the usefulness of the tool.    
 
Just my $0.02.  Stick with a receiver.
 
Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary,
currently at Rock Creek, Pasadena, MD