Lately I’ve been thinking quite a bit about buying and installing an AIS transponder but stuck in the need/want and affordable/ not affordable tests. The bottom line being that I just don’t want to spend $700 or so for a transponder with all the needful bits.
Here’s a solution for an alternative solution that would save me about $550…
There’s more info on his blog that tells you pretty much all you need to know and, for those of us in the cheap seats, it’s a blog you might want to bookmark.
Now, the one thing that does not make me feel warm and fuzzy with the net marker AIS products is that they use batteries and I feel a lot more comfortable with an installed 12V system. Looking at what’s available in China I could get a reasonable facsimile of a $500+ transponder for around $200. Which is worth thinking about.
Panbo (always a good read) gets into the downside of net markers being used as net markers but fails to discuss the use of user programmable units that is well worth the read and consideration.
Off hand, I might just try one of the net markers and see how it goes…