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jvde-github / AIS-catcher

AIS receiver for RTL SDR dongles, Airspy R2, Airspy Mini, Airspy HF+, HackRF, SDRplay and SoapySDR

Home Page:https://aiscatcher.org

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No AIS messages are being received

nbartzeliotis opened this issue · comments

commented

Hello,

After many hours of trying to troubleshoot, I've run out of things to try.

I have an RTL SDR (RTL2838UHIDIR) which I've been using with SDRSharp for years with its little antenna.
I've been able to listen to FM, VHF, UHF without any issues.

I have set up AIS-catcher v0.54 on my win10 pc and the RTL SDR but I can't get it to receive any AIS messages.
image

I've tried all available decoding modes along with different sample rates and bandwidth values.

Could it be because of the PLL not locked error message?
I also checked if I need to calibrate the RTL SDR but it looks pretty much spot on.

Lastly I can see there is data coming through on the webserver so I'd say it's not a driver issue.
image

It's worth mentioning that I'm using the little antenna that came with it and not a proper marine VHF antenna.
I am however located about 1km away from a marina full of boats transmitting AIS messages all day long - I can see them coming through on MarineTraffic.

BTW this project is awesome, well done to all the contributors :)

commented

Hello,

thanks for sharing. From what you have shown everything is running properly and the settings are correct. These default settings are in most cases already optimal. You might want to try the -gr TUNER at a high level to ensure the signals are not very weak. But suspect that will not resolve it.....

Since you have SDRsharp installed, can you have a look at 161.975 and 162.025 MHz to see if there are any signals on the AIS frequencies that you can see in that tool?

Thanks, Jasper

commented

Hi Jasper,

Thanks for the prompt response. Turns out even though my RTL SDR did not require any ppm offsets when I checked it with a local radio station frequency, but around AIS 1 and AIS 2 frequencies, it actually had an offset of about 45ppm. I added the offset in the startup .bat parameters and it's now receiving perfectly!

Thanks, Nick

commented

Great to hear!