Guest Post: Propagation Monitoring 2m Band with AIS Data ...by Jörg, DM4DL

Foreword... AIS (Automatic Identification System) is used by ships to identify their location by sending out a signal at 162 MHz which is pocked up by other ships and shore stations. There is a growing community of enthusiasts near coasts around the world who monitor these signals and feed the decoded signals into websites that then display the positions. AIS signals which are a few watts in power act like beacons and can be used by radio amateurs to show if there is any tropospheric enhancement on the VHF bands... de John, EI7GL

Propagation Monitoring 2m Band with AIS Data from Vesseltracker.com ...by Jörg, DM4DL

I'm trying to use the ships' transponders on 162 MHz +/-25 kHz as beacons for the 144 MHz 2m band. My first AIS receiving antenna is on the island of Neuwerk, 15 km from Cuxhaven. 

For 5 years I was able to inspire some HAM radio operators and meanwhile a partnership between the company Vesseltracker and Gabriel, EA6VQ, the operator of DXMaps is planned.

As a test, the Vesseltracker data of some AIS-RX are already being forwarded to DXMaps.

Please check whether you would like to participate in the community with your location?

Example of enhanced VHF conditions in the eastern Mediterranean

The equipment is provided free of charge by Vesseltracker, you can read more here: www.vesseltracker.com/en/community

You are invited to contact David Hewson, the antenna manager in your native language via the Vesseltracker community page, David is from Canada.

Now we are waiting for good conditions, which can be seen in DXMaps under AIS. 

VY73 Jörg DM4DL

Example of enhanced VHF conditions