JetBoaters.net Bimini Fling July 9th to 14th 2018

[Betik]

This sounds a lot like mini AIS. I wish I could someone local to do test trials prior to Bahia mar.

 

[Berrie]

Sorry, but I think you're missing the point. I'm not referring to the boats that ran out of fuel and got lost. I'm referring to the limited visibility during the storms. Reaching shore has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm talking about.

Anyway, group mmsi would be something that would help group leaders keep track of their flock at a glance. If some people don't want to be part of that, great. Those of us who recognize the advantages and want to utilize it can do so. Those who don't want to don't have to.

Most have a Garmin Echomap Plus 4x with a 4.3” screen. I wasn’t there but from what i have heard everybody was holding on for dear life with no time to spare to look at a 4.3” screen for others. Even if they could have there likely was nothing they could have done. Once they made it to Bimini, the ones drifting were too far away to still have reception of voice or MMSI.

It’s great with better weather, large chart plotters, and boats that have no problem handling the seas. That was not the case in 2017.

 

[Sbrown]

@Betik It is something like AIS. The main difference is AIS continually updates the information automatically, whereas DSC only updates on a operator initiated request or "poll". But if you set up a group mmsi, you can poll the entire group in one shot. And any boat included in the group mmsi would be able to do the same.

 

[Sbrown]

Most have a Garmin Echomap Plus 4x with a 4.3” screen. I wasn’t there but from what i have heard everybody was holding on for dear life with no time to spare to look at a 4.3” screen for others. Even if they could have there likely was nothing they could have done. Once they made it to Bimini, the ones drifting were too far away to still have reception of voice or MMSI.

It’s great with better weather, large chart plotters, and boats that have no problem handling the seas. That was not the case in 2017.

Sounds like quite a few people were ill-prepared for any crossing that was less than optimal. Last year's rough crossing and poor weather is part of the reason for all the additions to recommended equipment for this year, such as fixed mount VHFs. At least, that's my understanding. To my way of thinking,
last year should be used as a lesson for improvement, not as an excuse for not improving. DSC is just such an improvement. If people need to update or upgrade their equipment to take advantage of this technology, well, that's a decision they need to make for themselves. I wouldn't discourage it.

 

[Betik]

@Sbrown speaking of ill-prepared.... guess who forgot to "lock" his 7 inch touch screen!!!!!!

One big splash + one salty shower = the coast of South Carolina on your chart-plotter.

 

[Mainah]

The main benefit of a DSC VHF with a registered MMSI is the red distress button. I am all for sharing MMSI before the crossing as it can be useful when used right in the right circumstances. My earlier comment about not making it public comes from knowing what information I had to put in and not knowing what controls the FCC has around requests for this data and it may even be a public searchable database for all I know.

I find it hard to read a small screen when the boat is bouncing and in that case I prefer to get the compass heading to the waypoint, read the waves, and stay on heading. Less for your eyes to pick out to keep a compass heading and verify against the screen once and a while. Point being I would not be checking to see where others are at on a small screen if it is rough and would prefer they communicate over VHF if in trouble. I understand it was hard hearing people and am going to have one of my crew with a headset attached to the handheld in order to hear anything I might miss on the fixed mount from my group due to noise.

If the crossing is blissful it will be cool to see where others are at.

 

[Bruce]

@Sbrown,

If we wanted to require such a system with MMSI we might as well go for AIS.

Most of us who have radios with DSC support have radios that are limited to tracking 5 boats and do not have plotters that interface to our radios.

It can be done but is beyond the need for our crossing and what most are willing to spend.

 

[Bruce]

Sounds like quite a few people were ill-prepared for any crossing that was less than optimal.

The majority did very well despite the rough conditions. Were we not debating the need to spend a little extra for real passports recently!

 

[JROD]

Erica Almond has registered to captain Polar with a crew of 3 adults and 2 children. They hail from the home port of Southport, NC.

The crew is described as: My name is Erica, My husband is Nate and we have two little girls Skyler(9) and Willow(6). My mom Tina will be on the boat with us while my dad will be following on a waverunner. We spend all our time around a body of water! We keep a live aboard boat in Southport NC that we stay on every other weekend. We love to go exploring, deep sea fishing, surfing, snorkeling, Island hopping. We can’t wait for our adventure to Bimini.

You can register for the event using the form at
https://jetboaters.net/forms/bimini-2018-registration-june-25th-to-30th.8/respond for June 25th to 30th
or
https://jetboaters.net/forms/bimini-2018-registration-july-9th-to-14th.6/respond for July 9th to 14th

Welcome aboard this great group Erica and gang!

 

[Sbrown]

Were we not debating the need to spend a little extra for real passports recently!

That may have been what you and some others thought you were debating, I was just trying to get a straight answer to a simple question.

 

[Sbrown]

@Sbrown,

If we wanted to require such a system with MMSI we might as well go for AIS.

Most of us who have radios with DSC support have radios that are limited to tracking 5 boats and do not have plotters that interface to our radios.

It can be done but is beyond the need for our crossing and what most are willing to spend.

Once again, I'm not trying to convince anybody to do anything. Im also not trying to be argumentative. I'm simply clearing up some obvious misconceptions about the uses of DSC and help explain where some of its functions could be useful. If you choose not to use it to it's full advantage, that's up to you. If others choose to use it, then that's up to them. No big deal either way. I choose to take full advantage of all its features and will exchange mmsi numbers with anyone else who cares to do so. No sweat.

 

[Speedling]

I have been trying to figure out how to use my vhf to send people's location to a chartplotter.
I have cobra f45-d. It has dsc and i can enter msi. I don't know how i connect to a chartplotter to se everyone. I have a seperate gps module for the vhf or i can tie it into the chartplotter assuming they have the same nmea thing. Does my vhf need ome sort of extra connection to the chartplotter?

 

[Speedling]

I would use mmsi a good bit once i understood it i bet!
Every time i go out on Lake Michigan i see regulars and we could meet up and coordinate with this which would be awesome! As well as fishing spots out there, and finding my friends and family during the air show in Chicago, etc. So i think even if i needed a different vhf i may buy it anyways because this sounds really cool and helpful!
Added side bonus would be that more people would actually use the vhf if it had more use than just emergency only! I mean, it's an expensive piece of equipment to not utilize!

 

[Berrie]

I have been trying to figure out how to use my vhf to send people's location to a chartplotter.
I have cobra f45-d. It has dsc and i can enter msi. I don't know how i connect to a chartplotter to se everyone. I have a seperate gps module for the vhf or i can tie it into the chartplotter assuming they have the same nmea thing. Does my vhf need ome sort of extra connection to the chartplotter?

The manual of your chart plotter will tell you whether it is NMEA2000 compatible or not. So will the manual of your Cobra.
If they both are, then all you need to do is connect them - either through a wire, or wireless. The manuals will tell you how to do that.

 

[Sbrown]

I have been trying to figure out how to use my vhf to send people's location to a chartplotter.
I have cobra f45-d. It has dsc and i can enter msi. I don't know how i connect to a chartplotter to se everyone. I have a seperate gps module for the vhf or i can tie it into the chartplotter assuming they have the same nmea thing. Does my vhf need ome sort of extra connection to the chartplotter?

A. You shouldn't need a NMEA2k bus to connect the two, but if they are both NMEA2k ready you could do it that way.

B. Your vhf should have some extra wires coming out of the back of it or maybe an Acc. Pigtail. You can connect a couple of those wires to a couple of the wires from a chartplotter to enable communications between the two. Exactly which wire, you will have to figure out. On mine it's a green wire and a brown from the vhf to a blue wire and a brown wire, respectively, from the plotter.

My plotter is NMEA2k ready, but my vhf isnt.

 

[Bruce]

@Sbrown, what VHF and Plotter are you using with the ability to track more than 5 MMSI targets?

 

[DieselCamel]

most (a lot) of VHF fixed radios use NMEA 182 or 183 , two or three wires to connect to your chart plotter from your vhf

 

[Speedling]

most (a lot) of VHF fixed radios use NMEA 182 or 183 , two or three wires to connect to your chart plotter from your vhf

Mine is nmea 183.

 

[BBottoms]

My VHF (GX1700) is NMEA0183 only and unfortunately my plotter (Axiom) only supports NMEA2000. There's a NMEA0183 to NMEA2000 converter for ~$200 but not worth it for no more than I'll use it. I'd be cheaper to sell the GX1700 and buy a NMEA2000 compatible VHF (~$300 minimum it appears).

 

[Speedling]

So nmea183 and no connection wires for anything else. I guess it won't happen with this radio