RTL SDR AIS RECEIVER

WHAT IS IT ?

It is an Android app / application that decodes AIS messages transmitted by ships via radio using a cheap USB DVB-T / RTL-SDR stick.

AIS messages are transmitted over VHF.
Channel A: 161.975 MHz
Channel B: 162.025 MHz.
The app decodes both channels simultaneously.

This application does not need an internet connection, it decodes the received messages in real time.
This is a true standalone full featured AIS receiver.

The received messages are translated into NMEA0183 strings which can then be forwarded via UDP or TCP streaming to third party applications, PC programs or other devices.
Such applications can, for example, display the received AIS data on a map together with information about the received objects.

Please note: The app needs additional (very cheap) hardware to receive the radio signals.

AIS Receiver Shopping Guide

What’s needed

What is necessary to build an cheap 2 channel AIS receiver with your Android phone, tablet, TV-Box.

In this post I will show you buying links to components like USB Cable, RTL-SDR Dongle, Antenna.

Estimate total costs from 15€ to 40€ with good hardware components from Aliexpress. Could be the half if you already have some components.

Practical Boat Owner Test AIS Share

David Berry from Practical Boat Owner shows how to make an AIS receiver with an Android Phone or Tablet and a RTL-SDR.com dongle. He use AIS Share to stream data to Boat Beacon a very popular chart navigation app. In his article he provides information about the technical background of AIS( automatic information system) and he is describing how he build a cheap AIS Receiver with a RTL-SDR Dongle and my App. The full article was issued in the February 2019 edition. https://www.pbo.co.uk/publication/pbo/february-2019

A similar tutorial on setting up AIS Share and Boat Beacon can be found here, or here https://ebctech.eu/is-app-xy-compatible-with-ais-share/

Or just watch my YouTube video about AIS SHARE and BoatBeacon