The real-time AIS page is created with a number of tools:
The data is gathered using ShipPlotter, a popular piece of software that allows you to snag AIS data off of the airwaves and do various things with it.
Once ShipPlotter has captured the data, I use a VB script provided by W. Curt Deegan which looks at ShipPlotters logfiles, and generates a Google Maps compatible XML file.
I use VisualCron to take this data and upload it via SCP to my public webserver, because Windows has no decent automation tools that allow you to run batches of commands serially in the background.
I use an HTML page that is heavily customized. Thanks to folks like John Ambler for their work on these pages originally.
Live AIS Info
February 24, 2009 By 1 Comment
AIS
February 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Note: As of 4/19/2009, my dedicated AIS station is offline while I move.
I have a dedicated AIS reciever and antenna that are on 24×7 and connected to a dedicated machine that catalogs and logs the data to various places. I submit my data to mulitple online locations that provide user interfaces into the data for folks to browse.
I also upload my data every 60 seconds to a dedicated webserver I own where you can see near-realtime AIS data - Live AIS Ship Movements in Puget Sound. You can also read more about how this is setup here.
My setup is as follows:
- Location – near the top of Queen Anne hill in Seattle, WA, USA with direct views of Elliott Bay and surrounding waters
- Shakespeare AIS antenna (model number forthcoming) mounted outside on the 2nd floor of building
- SR 162 AIS Receiver
- Serial connection to a Windows XP system running a low-noise, low heat CPU, and an SSD hard drive for long life and reliability
- All above systems on UPS and behind firewall, with dual Internet connections, nightly backups to offsite storage
I have a number of AIS related pages and data:
Sailing … slightly cold but still nice
February 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
In the last two weeks I've been out on the water twice, once only for a short sail (about 2 hours) and today for about 4. Last week it never got above 40 degrees, and there was ice on the deck when I left. Today it was a little warmer, but still only got up to 50 degrees. As I always do when I'm sailing, I used my SPOT Satellite Tracker to send notes to my crew on shore to let them know I was OK – and also so I could get a neato map like below.
My Tacktick wind instrument isn't working, and I'm working to get it repaired, so I ended up having to spend a lot more time paying attention to the wind and steering more manually, which is fine with me, at least every once in a while. At one point there were some sustained winds of at least 25kts for about 45 minutes – very fun!
The new Nauticast AIS transponder is working great – I removed my SR 162 AIS receiver and took it home (more on this later) and directly wired the Nauticast into my chartplotter and multiplexer a few days ago. I'm hoping others are seeing me too – the whole reason for broadcasting it in the first place.
Hopefully I'll get some more chances to sail even in these cold months!
Wheat bread
February 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Made some wheat bread off of the same recipe I made bread last week from. Ended up baking it 10 minutes longer, and with a bit more heat in the oven. Turned out great, but I am always searching for something just a little bit better…
Awesome bread recipie
February 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
A friend forwarded me a great bread recipie that is awesome and has produced a couple of great loaves so far. The second batch of dough is already rising and ready for a few more later this week!
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