Showing AIS targets in v12.6.4

[fish2live]

I have Maxsea v12.6.4 Explorer and I just hooked up a Standard horizon VHF with an AIS receiver to my computer. I thought that I had AIS capability when I bought the software and when I look back at the old product page it claims that the PBG and AIS functions were included. I use the PBG every day so that much of the claim was correct. What do I need to do to get AIS targets displayed?

It doesn't help at all that maxsea has one of the most confusing product lines in history. I did note that a maxmobile add on module appears to still be available for sale, but on the other hand I really thought I didn't need the module for my version.

 

[Johnny Electron]

MaxSea/Furuno stopped official support for MaxSea Classic (31 Dec 2013).

MaxSea V12 explorer does support AIS if it has the mobiles option. If you PM me your license and it was purchased in the USA; I can look to see what options yours has.

Do you see AIS data coming into the PC on the port monitor screen?

 

[fish2live]

I saw that official support ended on 12/31 but it appears that the modules are still listed for sale. I've never received a single answer to any question from any form of tech support for this product, so the official end seems irrelevant.

If, by license, you mean my USB dongle number, I can easily give you that. If you need another number, presumably available on some screen inside the software, please advise me on which number and how to display it. The boat is a few miles away so I need to go and retrieve it.

I do see characters coming into the port but they are not legible sentences. I do see legible sentences on the com port that handles gps data but I do not see the dsc sentences also sent by the vhf to that port. The chart tools do not include AIS buttons as the manual describes. This is confusing to me because I did not buy the PBG as a separate module either. How could I have one and not the other without purchasing separate modules?

 

[Johnny Electron]

Since you didn't PM me your license, I can only guess by your statements that you purchased during the later days when the MaxSea Classic Explorer version came with both PBG and Mobiles option.

MaxSea V12 and it's modules is No Longer Available (NLA). Furuno USA was still allowing modules to be added to a pre-existing license until 31 Dec 2013. Our web site is currently being updated to reflect that the modules are NLA. It should be reflected in the next few business days. (Thanks for pointing that out)

It sounds like your problem isn't with not having the module, but the connection of your AIS.

AIS Sentences should be displayed clearly. It should look something like this.... (starting with !AIVDO or !AIVDM)
!AIVDO,1,1,,,13:r`R5P1orpG60JeHgRSj4l0000,0* 56
!AIVDM,1,1,,A,15MgK45P3@G?fl0E`JbR0OwT0@MS,0*4E

You can also refer to the following link for info on the AIS sentence structure.
http://gpsd.berlios.de/AIVDM.html

I recommend that you contact a paid dealer for assistance. Although MaxSea Classic is not supported, many dealers still know the system and would likely assist you in resolving the issue.

 

[fish2live]

As I stated above, I've never received an answer from a paid dealer, Furuno USA, the Maxsea website, or anyone, period. I have found dozens of bugs over the years and a huge number of incorrect instructions in the user manual, but there has never been any resolution to any problem. The paid dealers have given me a number for Furuno tech support, where the most helpful information was that some French person—normally in Seattle I believe—handled the software issues. That person was either in France, or refused to return my calls until I gave up.

I purchased the software in April 2010 and would have registered it around May 1, 2010. As I noted, I can easily give you the dongle number, but if by "license" you mean something else, then I would need to be advised on exactly which number you mean.

I reviewed the few emails I received from the maxsea website. Like you, I was asked by a "Dominick" for my license, though Dominick seemed only to be familiar with timezero. I did give my dongle number that time, but the license number seemed the least of the problems.

I do understand that software gets updated. On the other hand, I feel that I was tossed aside to go it alone from the moment that the money left my pocket. I am now aware that Furuno and some mix of Maxsea-Nobeltec-Jeppeson, etc. were going through some gyrations at the time I purchased the software. This was the most expensive piece of software I've ever purchased, and it came not only with no support, but with page upon page of incorrect documentation. After all of this, is it really too much for Furuno to be able to come up with whatever software key or add-on file I need?

 

[Acer]

Are you sure that your computer receives the ais data correctly?

With a port Monitor you should see the ais data in more or less in plain text.

Jonny already assumed that it is a Hardware Problem, Serial Connections are a bit tricky sometimes

 

[Melville]

fish2live-
Your license is your dongle number.
Please PM Johnny as he requested and we will do our best to help.

 

[fish2live]

I went down and checked the computer and installation disk again. I see that the dongle and license number are the same and I PMed that. I have no extra module for PBG so it must have been pre-installed and unlocked as a software code. Therefore there must be an AIS function waiting to be unlocked too. None of the expected chart buttons are available to use AIS.

I checked with the radio manufacturer before buying a RS422-to-USB cable and device manager shows the cable working properly. The data port monitor inside Maxsea shows a stream coming into the com port but the characters in the stream are not in legible sentences. This does seem odd since I would expect the display to be the same no matter what maxsea does with it, but I'm not entirely sure about that. I have not yet sealed my wires into place on the assumption that they could be connected wrong, but I don't think that the correct USB wiring would magically make those missing chart buttons appear.

 

[Acer]

Please Quote a set of the NMEA Sentences coming in via the comport receiving the AIS data.

As you know the nema sentences are plain text. If an ais source sends the ship Name, it is readable. If it is all "junk" then most likely the Settings of the baud rate is incorrect. These ser2usb converters are sometime tricky too.

AIS Data should "travel" at 38.4 kbaud. Some Radios also can send with 4.8 kbaud, but that is no good idea, because the bandwith is to low when there are a lot of ais Targets. So make sure that everything is set to 38.4 kBaud.

I dont know the "old" MaxSea Software. Perhaps you have a license Problem. It might also be possible that the AIS Buttons only Show up when correct AIS Data is received.....just an educated guess

 

[Johnny Electron]

Thanks for providing your dongle/license number.

Although it seems like you might have issues with the NMEA, the main problem is that your MaxSea Explorer V12 doesn't have the MAXMOBILES option required for AIS to function.

With V12 being discontinued, we have contacted MaxSea on your behalf. They said it isn't possible to add that option anymore; even for us. We can offer you a discounted version of MaxSea TZ that might meet your needs. Please contact our tech support directly to discuss your system and requirements.