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New AIS As Deadline Nears
01 Jun 2004
Simrad released a new Class A AIS unit last month designed to reduce the overall cost of ownership in order to meet the budget demands of owners and operators required to install this technology by the end of the year. The A180 features full AIS functionality but takes a ‘no frills’ approach in order to keep costs as low as possible.
‘Several SOLAS deadlines for different types of vessel have already passed and we have had products in place to address this, said Petter E Jorgensen, Simrad’s product director. ‘Reliability and punctionality have been tackled with the A170 and more recently the A171. The goal with the A180 is to utilise the experience we’ve gathered in the design of our existing AIS solutions to make a system that offers less of a budget impact for ship owners and operators alike.’ Though a lower cost option, the A180 offers identical functionality to more expensive systems. It can be connected via NMEA to chartplotters and radar in order to offer navigators the full advantages of the AIS information available, in a graphical navigation based display.
The A180 is a Simrad ‘black box’ product. It consists of an AIS Class A Mobile Station that can be placed anywhere on a vessel and a Minimum Keyboard Display (MKD) with a four line LCD display and a dedicated keypad. With deadlines for the largest of vessels already passed, Simrad has taken into account that users of the A180 may be limited by bridge space so has reduced the size of the MKD to reflect this and to reduce costs and simplify installation.
While operation and functionality of the A180 is unchanged, the benefits in the form of reduced size, easier installation and a lower price make the system ideal for those required to install AIS by the end of the year, the final installation deadline as detailed in SOLAS Convention V, Safety of Navigation, Regulation 19,<$>Chapter 1.5.
Nearly as new as the A180, Simrad’s A171 integrates display and controls with the AIS Class A Mobile Station. Although based on identical technology to the earlier A170, the A171 does not require an external MKD for operation.
Meeting IMO standards, the A171 has a four line display capable of displaying all text based AIS information. Control is user friendly, with dedicated keys for all main functions. The A171 can be interfaced with radar, ECDIS and ECS as standard, in order to display AIS data over electronic charts and radar images.
‘The A171 is a cost-effective solution to meeting AIS regulations, but it also provides a powerful tool for navigation, safety and security in its own right,’ says Paul Comyns, Marketing Manager, Simrad. ‘The integrated MKD makes the unit compact and easier to place onboard, but still able to offer complete AIS functionality.’
MJ Information No: 19593
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