I have the same splitter and it is awful. One thing to try - see how far you can receive if you take out the splitter and go direct to the masthead antenna? I was getting about 8-10 miles with the splitter and about 17miles without. Either one is probably adequate but this halfing of distance is also affecting the VHF transmission distance which I was not happy with.
That’s interesting and something I will check. As we have always had one of these splitters connected I have never tried without, however I’ll give it a try and report back.
I have the Daisy AIS usb receiver with a inexpensive separate antenna, I had ear “somewhere “ the DAISy didn’t play well with a splitter. Quite satisfied with it’s performance with the separate antenna on the mizzen mast head and the vhf antenna on the main mast.
Thanks for video. I need to look at my signalk as it seems to have stopped passing on Ais, any thoughts? I like the idea of splitter, in your video you said £30? But Google search seems to suggest glomex 201 as £70+. Where did you get yours from, for £30 I would definitely copy your set up..
Sorry thats a little misleading. In the video I was referring to the £30 AIS device rather than the splitter. The splitter unit cost about £65 if I remember correctly. Still pleased with the setup and I will put a comment on the description to clear that up - thanks
Can you “expand “ your adding the Victron info to the RPI interface. I have the Victron BMI700 with the Victron blue smart solar charger and Victron blue smart shore charger. I have the Victron app on my iPhone and can “see” all the Victron functionality but it would be a cleaner system if I could see the Victron data on my OpenCPN/RPI4. Thanks
Hi, Yeah sure. I'm using a Victron plug-in which is avilable from the SignalK app store. Im then using the purcahsed Victron cable which converts to USB which is just plugged into the PI. This plug-in decodes that data and presents the info in the data browser. From here i've recording the data in my DB and displaying some of the live information in KIP. I didn't really document this that well, but some further info in this video ruclips.net/video/2k_HZ6ccZ1M/видео.html and another one on the channel around the victron smart shunt install which is where all the data is coming from. I believe the plug-in can read many Victron products and solar is included in that, just no direct experiances of this. Hope this helps and let me know if you need anything further. Happy to record, add info, take pics.
@@BoatingwiththeBaileys many thanks! I am an experienced sailor, but this integrating computer business to a easy to use/interpret data has been a challenge. I tried to use the Lyesmarine Bareboat OS but quickly became overwhelmed so I reverted to Raspberry OS, to simplify my “personal OS”. Thanks again
@@jayknight850 Yeah it can be very time-consuming and while a lot of work has been done, it's still not that straightforward sometimes. I have to say that the victron part was ok to setup and its one of the data sources/pages that I use the most. I've just had a quick look at the BMI700 and it has the V.E Direct port, so that and the attached cable www.victronenergy.com/accessories/ve-direct-to-usb-interface, along with the plug-in should get the data in quickly. You might be able to network the other kit but as a starting point, the shunt info is really useful.
RF splitters like this do what the name implies and split the signal. That means that each output receives 1/2 the input input power. Then you split the signal again which means you are down to 1/4 the original signal. You would get much better performance by adding a separate antenna for each receiver. For AIS the antenna could be relatively low since long range is not really needed. Also consider the lost performance of other devices using that antenna.
All good points and it is something for us to investigate further. There has always been a splitter in this system (for as long as we’ve had the boat, although it was just VHF/FM) Do the marine AIS units with built in splitter suffer the same issues?
@@BoatingwiththeBaileys Any passive splitter will have the same issue. You can try to overcome the issue by adding amplification, but that will increase the noise to some extent. You also then have the issue of not transmitting through the amplifier because that will let the smoke out of the amp. Separate antennas separated be several wavelengths (so they don't de-tune each other) will give you the best performance. Another thing to consider as you optimize the system is coax losses. At VHF frequencies and long runs, these can add up. For your VHF antenna, at the top of the mast, use low loss coax and a simple 1/4 wave whip ad you will have great receive performance. Do not be tempted to use a gain antenna on a sail boat. These will have poor performance when healed over. For the AIS, a 1/4 wave whip a few feet above the deck will work well. That will give you line of sight coverage to the horizon and that's all you really need.
![VHF/AIS/GPS mounted to mast and wired. Plus a special pop rivet test. Lifeboat Conversion Ep74 [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EkDXTYb6Fqk/mqdefault.jpg)
I have the same splitter and it is awful. One thing to try - see how far you can receive if you take out the splitter and go direct to the masthead antenna? I was getting about 8-10 miles with the splitter and about 17miles without. Either one is probably adequate but this halfing of distance is also affecting the VHF transmission distance which I was not happy with.
That’s interesting and something I will check. As we have always had one of these splitters connected I have never tried without, however I’ll give it a try and report back.
I have the Daisy AIS usb receiver with a inexpensive separate antenna, I had ear “somewhere “ the DAISy didn’t play well with a splitter. Quite satisfied with it’s performance with the separate antenna on the mizzen mast head and the vhf antenna on the main mast.
Thats good to know. I still plan to do some further tests with this setup to see if it does impact performance.
Nice setup. Cheers, and thanks for sharing. It's inspirational.
Thanks for your comments and continued support
Thanks for video. I need to look at my signalk as it seems to have stopped passing on Ais, any thoughts? I like the idea of splitter, in your video you said £30? But Google search seems to suggest glomex 201 as £70+. Where did you get yours from, for £30 I would definitely copy your set up..
Sorry thats a little misleading. In the video I was referring to the £30 AIS device rather than the splitter. The splitter unit cost about £65 if I remember correctly. Still pleased with the setup and I will put a comment on the description to clear that up - thanks
Can you “expand “ your adding the Victron info to the RPI interface. I have the Victron BMI700 with the Victron blue smart solar charger and Victron blue smart shore charger. I have the Victron app on my iPhone and can “see” all the Victron functionality but it would be a cleaner system if I could see the Victron data on my OpenCPN/RPI4. Thanks
Hi, Yeah sure. I'm using a Victron plug-in which is avilable from the SignalK app store. Im then using the purcahsed Victron cable which converts to USB which is just plugged into the PI. This plug-in decodes that data and presents the info in the data browser. From here i've recording the data in my DB and displaying some of the live information in KIP. I didn't really document this that well, but some further info in this video ruclips.net/video/2k_HZ6ccZ1M/видео.html and another one on the channel around the victron smart shunt install which is where all the data is coming from. I believe the plug-in can read many Victron products and solar is included in that, just no direct experiances of this. Hope this helps and let me know if you need anything further. Happy to record, add info, take pics.
@@BoatingwiththeBaileys many thanks! I am an experienced sailor, but this integrating computer business to a easy to use/interpret data has been a challenge. I tried to use the Lyesmarine Bareboat OS but quickly became overwhelmed so I reverted to Raspberry OS, to simplify my “personal OS”. Thanks again
@@jayknight850 Yeah it can be very time-consuming and while a lot of work has been done, it's still not that straightforward sometimes. I have to say that the victron part was ok to setup and its one of the data sources/pages that I use the most. I've just had a quick look at the BMI700 and it has the V.E Direct port, so that and the attached cable www.victronenergy.com/accessories/ve-direct-to-usb-interface, along with the plug-in should get the data in quickly. You might be able to network the other kit but as a starting point, the shunt info is really useful.
Thanks for sharing. Great to see what’s possible, without spending $20k on commercial products that perform the same function!
Yeah, I’m starting to think the same.
RF splitters like this do what the name implies and split the signal. That means that each output receives 1/2 the input input power. Then you split the signal again which means you are down to 1/4 the original signal. You would get much better performance by adding a separate antenna for each receiver. For AIS the antenna could be relatively low since long range is not really needed. Also consider the lost performance of other devices using that antenna.
All good points and it is something for us to investigate further. There has always been a splitter in this system (for as long as we’ve had the boat, although it was just VHF/FM) Do the marine AIS units with built in splitter suffer the same issues?
@@BoatingwiththeBaileys Any passive splitter will have the same issue. You can try to overcome the issue by adding amplification, but that will increase the noise to some extent. You also then have the issue of not transmitting through the amplifier because that will let the smoke out of the amp. Separate antennas separated be several wavelengths (so they don't de-tune each other) will give you the best performance. Another thing to consider as you optimize the system is coax losses. At VHF frequencies and long runs, these can add up. For your VHF antenna, at the top of the mast, use low loss coax and a simple 1/4 wave whip ad you will have great receive performance. Do not be tempted to use a gain antenna on a sail boat. These will have poor performance when healed over. For the AIS, a 1/4 wave whip a few feet above the deck will work well. That will give you line of sight coverage to the horizon and that's all you really need.
Great advice - many thanks
I get 40 miles. From my AIS
Hi, I guess that’s in the open ocean? What’s the setup?
@@BoatingwiththeBaileys . Im in the port of los Angeles. . I have a vesper cortex VHF AIS
@sysublime5091 I see. I think at the time I was using a £30 AIS receiver attached to a raspberry pi