Note: It may not be mandatory for vessels to be fitted withoperational AIS equipment. Therefore, you should not assumethat your multifunction display will show ALL vessels in your area.Due prudence and judgement should be exercised. AIS shouldbe used to complement radar, NOT substitute it.AIS Simulator ModeRaymarine recommends that you use the simulator function tofamiliarize yourself with the AIS features. When the simulatorfunction is enabled (homescreen > Set-up > System Settings >Simulator), it displays 20 AIS targets within a 25 nm range. Thesetargets are displayed using the appropriate AIS target’s statussymbol, and move around the screen as if they were real targets.Note: Incoming safety messages are NOT displayed while thesimulator is enabled.10.2 AIS prerequisitesYou must have suitable AIS hardware connected to yourmultifunction display to make use of the AIS functionality.In order to run AIS, you will need:• A receive-only AIS unit or a full AIS transceiver (a unit that sendsand receives).• A VHF antenna.• A GPS - to provide position data.• The AIS layer enabled in the chart or radar application, asappropriate.Note: A receiver will allow you to receive data about othervessels in your area but will not allow other vessels to ‘see’ you.A full transceiver transmits and receives AIS data, and thereforeallows you to receive data about other vessels. It also enablesother AIS-equipped vessels to see and receive information aboutyour vessel. This could include position, course, speed and rateof turn data.When the AIS unit is connected to your multifunction display, thestatus of the unit is indicated by an AIS icon in the status bar.You can connect an AIS unit to your multifunction display usingNMEA0183 or SeaTalkng, depending on the AIS unit. If connectingusing NMEA0183, you will now need to specify the 38,400 baudsetting (homescreen > Set-up > System Settings > NMEASet-up) for the NMEA input port that communicates with the AIStransceiver or receiver.Using AIS 177
