AIS-Sart, the future transmitter.

From January 1, 2010, after several years of product development and standardisation work through international organisations, the AIS-Sart will be adopted into the GMDSS regulations as an alternative to the Radar-Sart.

The unique and innovative feature of the AIS-Sart is the combination of its physical size and technical capability. The housing of the AIS-Sart is identical to JotronA[sup.3]s Radar-Sart, type Tron Sart20 - with total height of 251 mm and weight of only 450g. Technically, the AIS-Sart is based on the following principals; the unit will be programmed from the manufacturer with a unique ID code and receives its position via an internal GPS antenna. This data is combined and transmitted using the international AIS channels (AIS A and AIS B) in the maritime VHF band. The transmitter sends out a specified pattern. Every minute, a sequence of 8 messages is transmitted; each message is transmitted in a 26 ms time slot. Four messages are transmitted on channel A and 4 on channel B. All 8 messages are transmitted within a total time frame of 14 seconds. This time frame is defined to maximise the probability that one of the transmissions hits a wave top. It is only necessary to receive one of the 8 messages from time to time to accurately locate the AIS-Sart. Anybody who can receive and detect an AIS signal will also detect an AIS-Sart. The transmission signal from an AIS-Sart consists of an MMSI like ID code, where the first three digits will be "970". The ID code consists of a total of 9 digits and the AIS-Sart uses the remaining 6 digits to indicate a manufacturer code (2 digits) in addition to the unit's unique serial number (4 digits). In addition to the ID code that appears on the AIS and connected equipment, an AIS-Sart will also be visualized on an electronic chart, connected to the AIS transponder onboard. An AIS-Sart will be shown as a circle with a built-in cross. As part of the process to define an international standard for AIS-Sart, 3 different tests have been conducted by IEC / IALA. JotronA[sup.3]s AIS-Sart has been used as a test object in all tests. The interest in JotronA[sup.3]s new AIS-Sart has been overwhelming, both from the market and authorities all over the world. Jotron expects to have a type approved AIS-Sart during the summer of 2009. Furthermore, the AIS-Sart will be implemented in an appendix to the European Marine Equipment Directive (MED), probably in the summer of 2010. In the meantime, authorities can issue national certificates to allow installation of the AIS-Sart as soon as there are type approved products available.

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