You may use the free version of the AIS Server for testing your AIS equipment and monitoring marine traffic in your area. SiiTech provides AIS professionals, users, and amateurs with a free and proven solution to test your AIS devices. This solution is based on the SiiTech AIS Server and SiiTech Web VTS products and allows you verify your AIS receiver/transponder/base station in 5 minutes.

In just 5 minutes you could:

• Monitor AIS-equipped ships on the map/chart
• Check your AIS coverage
• Check reception and decode AIS Class A and Class B data from each displayed ship
• Check reception and decode AIS Base station data from each displayed base station
• Check reception and decode AIS Aids to Navigation (AtoN) data from each displayed AtoN device
• Check reception and decode safety messages

Follow these five simple steps:

1. Download and install SiiTech AIS Server Lite (see Downloads)
2. Connect a working AIS device to any COM port or to your network
3. Connect AIS Server Lite to the above COM port or to the network AIS device using its TCP address and port number
4. Press the "Start" button to begin AIS Server Lite
5. Press the "Map..." button to see AIS-equipped ships around your position at http://vtslite.siitech.net/VTSLite

Note: If your COM port connection is using a setting other than default, you will have to change the default settings accordingly. If you are using a network AIS device, you will have to specify its TCP address and port number. For more information see the AIS Server Administrator’s Guide.

This solution supports S57 and S63 nautical charts, Open Street, Bing and Google maps.