1815 radar AIS issue

fish2live

New member
I'm installing an 1815 radar and a new VHF with gps/ais outputs. In the radar menus, both AIS and GPS are grayed out and I cannot select them. I do have a 4800 baud feed from the gps into the radar, and in the self test I see that the GLL and RMC sentences check OK. The self test screen does not have the VDM sentence listed, but I am sure that the radar is getting a 38.4k baud VDM sentence. Neither of the NMEA ports shows any result on the self test screen, though port 1 is obviously seeing the gps data. My position is shown elsewhere.

The radar is supposed to use all of these sentences. I don't understand why I can't turn on the AIS targets in the menu, and where has the VDM sentence gone?

On the self test screen, shouldn't there be some indication of the states of Port 1 and Port 2, especially since the radar is clearly using data coming into Port 1?
 
Fish2live,
Thank you for the inquiry.
In order to be able to display AIS target information and icons the 1815 radar requires position and a heading input (HDM, HDT, or HDG). Is there presently a source for this, possibly a fluxgate compass from an autopilot or a satellite compass?
 
The requirement for a heading input is not mentioned anywhere in the manual, though it does make a certain amount of sense. The nmea port 3 seems to be dedicated to heading data.

This information deserves some prominent place in the operator manual. I spend several hours puzzling over this problem and testing wires and connections.
 
I have had the identical problem. A tech told me the GPS sentence from my AIS transponder should be able to be seen so I at least get an "own ship" lat/lon., SOG, etc. But evidently to make use of True Trails, and all AIS relative information, I need a heading sensor, which probably means a sat comp as it's a steel sailboat.

Any suggestions would be welcome. At least the RADAR part is working well!
 
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