Overview

AISTrack Lite is an application for processing and displaying AIS data received by an AIS receiver.

When messages from AIS transponders are received on the VHF data link (VDL), the receiver creates NMEA-compliant strings encapsulating these messages and sends them out via com port. AISTrack Lite running on a computer connected to this com port, will convert this NMEA data into information, and present it to the user in an understandable and useful format.

AISTrack Lite keeps track of each AIS transponder from which the receiver is receiving messages. These transponders could be installed on vessels, aids-to-navigation or they could be base stations, so we call them "targets". When messages have not been received from a target for more than 10 minutes, it is marked as being lost, and after 15 minutes, it is no longer tracked (in other words, it no longer appears in output). AISTrack Lite outputs target information in a number of different ways:

Radar Display

This the first tab displayed when AISTrack Lite is started. It is a radar screen-like presentation of all the vessels within a certain range. The range is adjustable to any of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 nautical miles using the slider below the display, and is shown at the bottom left hand side as "Range". The outer range is split into 4 equal radial sub-ranges, the size of which is displayed as "Ring". The orientation of the display is fixed, with North at the 12-o-clock position, with the own vessel always situated at the center. If own vessel information is not available, this display is disabled.

List Display

Here all targets are listed in order of increasing range in a table. The first target shown is always the own target. There are a number of fields shown for each target: Alarm flags, MMSI, Vessel Name, Callsign, Heading, Bearing, COG (Course Over Ground), COG (Speed Over Ground), Range, Latitude, Longitude, Last fix time.

Map Display

The Map Display is an equirectangular projection from the lowest to the highest latitude and longitude of all of the coordinates of all received targets.

Chart Display

The chart display shows all vessels within the coordinates configured with the Chart Dialog [see Options->Configure Chart]. The position of the targets shown in this display are Mercator projected, and thus would fall on the correct spot on a raster map image (Mercator projected/WGS-84 datum) of the same latitude/longitude area. This image can be loaded from a file, using the Chart Dialog, most popular raster formats are supported.

Waypoints

Right-clicking in the Map and Chart displays bring up a dialog for adding a waypoint marker at the coordinate clicked. Waypoints are then displayed in the waypoints tab in a list format, and as markers in the Radar, Map and Chart displays. Waypoints can then be saved to, and loaded from a file using items under the File menu.

Raw NMEA Log File

All NMEA strings received from the com ports can be logged to a file [File->Record to Serial File], and later be played back [File->Play back Serial File].

CSV Target Log File

Information contained in the List Display can be recorded to a file in Comma Separated Values (CSV) formatted file. A new line is written each time a target is updated. See [File->Log to CSV file].

Viewing Targets

In the Radar, Map and Chart displays, the target icons can be left-clicked to be selected. In the List display, left-clicking the row for a target selects that target. The right-hand pane of AISTrack Lite's main window is split into three sections. The top section contains information for the own target while the middle section displays information for the selected target.

Alarms

AISTrack Lite has three types of alarms:

CPA/tCPA: Raised when the Closest Point of Approach (in nm or hours) is less than the configured threshold distance/time.

Proximity: Raised when the a target is closer to the own target than the configured threshold distance.

Lost: Raised when a target is lost, and was last fixed at a range less than the configured threshold distance.

The first column of the List display shows three character flags 'C', 'P' and 'L', indicating which alarms are set. The third (bottom) section of the right hand pane of the AISTrack Lite main window displays the number of CPA/tCPA, Proximity and Lost target warnings. In the Radar, Map and Chart displays, a target with a warning is displayed red instead of green. Lost targets are show with a line drawn through it.

Download

The current version can be downloaded here. To obtain a license key, contact us at please contact info@www.maritec.co.za.

Pricing

A single user license is $59 US. For volume pricing or OEM/bundle options, please contact info@www.maritec.co.za.

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