AIS 650 with Plotter E80

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Federico,

Q1. Is it better to use the VHF antenna that I have in the boat now or is better to use an antenna only for the AIS (with a splitter)?
A1. Bearing in mind that any splitter or coupler within the cable path between the VHF radio's antenna port and the VHF antenna is a potential source of RF signal loss. As such and with the knowledge that a VHF radio is considered a piece of safety equipment, it is considered a best practice to install a dedicated antenna for the VHF radio. Accordingly, if adding an AIS transceiver to the system, then it is recommended that another VHF antenna having a maximum gain of -3dB be installed for use with the AIS transceiver.

Q2. I want to know what else I need to buy to connect the AIS650 (wires, plugs, antenna VHF?, etc), since the boat is in a city in Brasil where I don´t have anything of those accessories.
A2. If interfacing the AIS650 to an E-Series Classic MFD, then no other networking components need be purchased, as these products will be interfaced to one another via NMEA 0183 communications (see attachment). The AIS650 is compatible with all currently manufactured Raymarine MFDs and it would be recommended that it be interfaced as a spur to a powered and properly terminated SeaTalkng backbone to which the MFD will also be interfaced as a spur.