[TG] VHF position information from AIS650?

[ruuduitdegraaf]

I've a Ray60 VHF, requiring realtime position information, for DSC messages.

Current the VHF gets its position from my es97 MFD via STng network.

I would like to make it a less power hungry solution (for anchoring) so can I use the AIS650 position information instead, connected via NMEA0183 ?

Thanks for your advice!
Ruud

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello Ruud,

The AIS650 can output NMEA0183 GPS data, and this is can be enabled through the ProAIS software, but we recommend leaving this disabled and using a dedicated external GPS if you want to power down the e97 to save power. Using NMEA0183 isn't ideal (I am really not a fan of 0183), the AIS's data rate for GPS position is probably only 1Hz compared to 10Hz on our RS150 antenna, and it wouldn't be easy to switch between GPS sources if you want to as 0183 doesn't allow any sort of prioritisation.

What we'd recommend instead is supplying GPS data from a dedicated external NMEA2000 GPS such as the RS150.

Regards,
Tom