Ship tracker - real-time

[JR8]

Live map monitoring worldwide shipping.

Thought it might be fun if you live out on the East Coast and ever wonder what a particular vessel is.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... ssels.html

[Strong Eagle]

I think they got it from here...

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/

This is an alternative but it's not as good.

http://www.vesselfinder.com/

[Max Headroom]

That's astonishing. And pretty useful for pirates too.

[zzm9980]

That's astonishing. And pretty useful for pirates too.

ftopic101801.html

[rdueej]

You can think of these AIS signals as like your local FM radio. They are broadcast out from the ships, and if you had the right receiver you can easily pick them up.

With a $20 piece of hardware, you do not even need to rely on internet data. A weekend project for those interested in rolling your own 'radar' http://www.rtl-sdr.com/adsb-aircraft-radar-with-rtl-sdr/. ( The ship's AIS is not too different from aircraft ADS-B for this particular purpose )

Get on a high-rise building with a clear view and you can track objects up to 200 km away.

[JR8]

Get on a high-rise building with a clear view and you can track objects up to 200 km away.

Wah-eh! Can track wife on shopping trip ah!?

[Max Headroom]

ZZM, that neck of the woods has always been a pirate hotspot. That's the reason I'm convinced it was pirates that diverted the Belitung dhow to the south and, ultimately, its demise. No captain would risk his entire cargo, his life savings in fact, for a quick errand, least of all down Lanun Alley.

But I digress...

[ecureilx]

Get on a high-rise building with a clear view and you can track objects up to 200 km away.

Wah-eh! Can track wife on shopping trip ah!?

if my ancient terrastrial communication formula basics are correct, for every 100 metre upwards you can see another 30 km away ... to see 200 km, you need to go up 600 meters upwards I think ...

now about AIS, it is not 100% accurate, or fully published ....

I once saw a Dockwise Semi Sub, off Changi, with two USN minesweepers on top, and out of curiosity I checked AIS tracking and the said vessel was tagged as being in San Diego ....

and it was in San Diego a week later per AIS tracking ....

PS, I have a digital camera with a 30x optical zoom, and when bored I do zoom at far away ships/planes, just for fun ....

[zzm9980]

Get on a high-rise building with a clear view and you can track objects up to 200 km away.

Wah-eh! Can track wife on shopping trip ah!?

if my ancient terrastrial communication formula basics are correct, for every 100 metre upwards you can see another 30 km away ... to see 200 km, you need to go up 600 meters upwards I think ...

now about AIS, it is not 100% accurate, or fully published ....

I once saw a Dockwise Semi Sub, off Changi, with two USN minesweepers on top, and out of curiosity I checked AIS tracking and the said vessel was tagged as being in San Diego ....

and it was in San Diego a week later per AIS tracking ....

PS, I have a digital camera with a 30x optical zoom, and when bored I do zoom at far away ships/planes, just for fun ....

Are you implying you got high enough up that with your 30x zoom you saw San Diego?

[ecureilx]

....

I once saw a Dockwise Semi Sub, off Changi, with two USN minesweepers on top, and out of curiosity I checked AIS tracking and the said vessel was tagged as being in San Diego ....

and it was in San Diego a week later per AIS tracking ....

PS, I have a digital camera with a 30x optical zoom, and when bored I do zoom at far away ships/planes, just for fun ....

Are you implying you got high enough up that with your 30x zoom you saw San Diego?

I meant AIS said it was in San Diego when I saw it off Changi ....

[rdueej]

Get on a high-rise building with a clear view and you can track objects up to 200 km away.

Wah-eh! Can track wife on shopping trip ah!?

if my ancient terrastrial communication formula basics are correct, for every 100 metre upwards you can see another 30 km away ... to see 200 km, you need to go up 600 meters upwards I think ...

I had missed this post earlier: I had meant aircraft on ADS-B. The planes are flying high enough for you to reach the required distance. You just need clearance from nearby buildings.

[curiousgeorge]

AIS or similar is mandatory in Singapore port waters.

The local alternative (used by smaller vessels and some pleasurecraft) is called the Harbour Craft Transponder (HARTS). HARTS uses GSM network to report positions so the local sea fuzz can see your position, but it doesn't help big tankers know you are in the water.

The big ships use AIS-A, that contains a bit more information and is updated, I think every 2 seconds. Whereas the consumer version is AIS-B, with less information and updated only every 30 seconds.

On my boat, the AIS reported position and what my radar shows can be out by quite a few M.

One advantage on the boat is that with AIS you can tap the vessel on your e-chart and call it directly via DSC over VHF.

[x9200]

Get on a high-rise building with a clear view and you can track objects up to 200 km away.

Wah-eh! Can track wife on shopping trip ah!?

For wife tracking no heavy canons needed. You can easily buy a sub S$100 device consisting of a GPS logger with a GSM module. Not only it reports the position on a map but also can work as a mobile, one-way phone so you can call it and listen....