#COMMTEL SCANNER MANUAL HOW TO#
#COMMTEL SCANNER MANUAL REGISTRATION#
#COMMTEL SCANNER MANUAL PC#

The scanners contain an MC3361 or identical KA3361. Modifying these scanners with a discriminator output is quite straightforward. Realistic PRO-50 / GRE PSR-250 and PSR-275įrom the inside, the COM103, AE50H, AE75H, PSR-250, PSR-275 and PRO-50 are almost identical. Now, make sure you select the correct input port of your sound card (usage of line-in is preferred over mic-in).Commtel COM103 & COM104 / Albrecht AE50H & AE75H / This way, you will get a new Station ID and a unique Port Number to send your data to. Upon registration, sign-in to your account (top right corner) and click on My Account > My Stations > Add Receiving Station to add your Station to the MarineTraffic Network. You will see the program window:Ĥ IMPORTANT If you haven t done this already, please visit the MarineTraffic website ( and register yourself by creating a New Account. When installation is finished run the AISMon application by double-clicking on the icon created on your Desktop. When download is finished double-click on the installer file. Firstly, download AISMon from here: Save the file on your Desktop.

#COMMTEL SCANNER MANUAL HOW TO#

Since using an existing VHF transceiver is a cost-efficient method for AIS message reception and decoding, it makes sense to focus only on how to setup AISMon for sharing data with Marinetraffic. On the other hand, AISMon is a more basic program but it is available for download and use free of charge.

#COMMTEL SCANNER MANUAL REGISTRATION#

Ship plotter is a more versatile and feature rich application but it s not free to use (requires registration fees after a 21-day trial period).

Such programs are Ship Plotter and AISMon.

#COMMTEL SCANNER MANUAL PC#

For that you will need a PC with a basic sound card (with linein) and an ethernet port, XP or newer OS and a stable internet connection (in order to share your data with MarineTraffic) You will also need an AIS audio decoding and data forwarding application. An example of said modification on a COMMTEL COM103 transceiver looks like this:Ģ IC discriminator pin RC filter soldered in place (10K resistor, 2.2nF capacitor)ģ An example of how the received signal looks like with and without the IF filtered, follows: Unfiltered Filtered Once the discriminator output is obtained, the next step is to decode the AIS data contained in the feed. The desired output resides between the filter output and the chassis ground. This is done in order to block/ eliminate the 455KHz IF component of the FSK signal which distorts the audio feed. When modification is required, the concept is to find the receiver IC in the unit s main board, identify the pin that carries the discriminator signal and solder a basic RC filter between that pin and the chassis ground. This requires basic electronics knowledge and basic to intermediate soldering skills (depending on the transceiver type). In most cases, the user must modify the unit in order to gain access to the unfiltered audio feed required for AIS signal decoding. The equipment setup must look like below: Only a few cheap VHF transceivers have a dedicated discriminator output available. In order to do so, you must tap into the radio s discriminator output (unfiltered audio).

1 DIY VHF AIS RECEIVER GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE YOUR VHF TRANSCEIVER AS AN AIS RECEIVER AND SHARE DATA WITH MARINETRAFFIC A cost-efficient alternative method to dedicated AIS receivers, is to use a cheap or readily available VHF radio transceiver and a PC equipped with a basic sound card (with line-in) to decode AIS messages.

Commtel scanner manual