200420 Report on AIS

Report on AIS
MARS Report 200420

Our AIS is a JRC JHS-180. The only real problem we have is that it occasionally comes up with the alarm '008 - MKD connection lost'. Switching off and on resets it. Ideally, as more stations are fitted with it, we could do with a larger display but for the moment scrolling down is no big problem.

There were no installation problems. However, prior to installation I read through all the relevant SOLAS information and had a number of questions to ask the installation Engineer for clarification along with ensuring that the correct static information was installed. Afterwards the Engineer advised me that he had fitted many AIS systems to that date and it was the first time that anyone had taken the slightest interest in the system. It makes you wonder how many people really are interested in aids to navigation and communication. We, onboard here, find the AIS very useful, especially around port approaches with high traffic density to more positively identify vessels. Obviously identification is modified with caution until absolute confirmation is made.