Well, I have to disagree with both of you. Clearly you do not build
electronics for a living, which is what I do. An Apple iPhone has a
bill of material cost of about $200 USD, based on building MILLIONS of
the frickin things. (isuppli teardown
<http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/Many-iPhone-5-Components-Change-But-Most-Suppliers-Remain-the-Same-Teardown-Reveals.aspx>)
Someone like Digital Yacht might have a production run of 1000, maybe
more. At those quantities they aren't getting the price breaks that
Apple gets, and the parts manufacturers won't return their calls - all
parts have to be bought through the distribution channels - which adds
costs. Even Garmin or Ray are nowhere near that scale. Their
manufacturing process is more expensive since they do not have the
option to engineer every last cent out of it and the volume to automate
everything possible, and they can't spread the R&D costs across as huge
a production run. The quality requirements are higher - if your iPhone
dies in 3 years you aren't too mad but my B&G wind instrument is
probably 25 years old and still works fine. The environment
requirements are higher.
Do I like the price? Hell no. Do I think it is unreasonable? No.
Graham Collins
Secret Plans
C&C 35-III #11
On 2013-09-28 4:56 PM, Colin Kilgour wrote:
Good points Steve....
I've often said that it can't be too tough to build stuff like that.
(I hate to think what the unit cost on a $600 iphone is, too)
That said, other than guys like Dennis, Rich and Fred who install the
stuff, you don't see too many guys getting rich off marine
electronics. ;-)
Look at Raymarine, one of the biggest players in the market who went
bankrupt. If they can't make it, then it doesn't bode well for the
smaller guys, particularly those who tend to focus on the sailing
market rather than the much larger powerboat market.
Unfortunately, the price is what it is and we need to evaluate choices
based on what's available. If I've got only $400 to spend - I'm going
to buy AIS before lots of other things.
Cheers
Colin
On 9/28/13, Steve Thomas <[email protected]> wrote:
Colin,
I agree with everything you say in your post, but my complaint about
cost is not about value to the sailor. It is hard to
put a value on avoiding a collision at sea. If the only way to manufacture
an AIS receiver was with some sort of unobtanium that
resulted in an unavoidable cost of thousands of dollars per unit, they would
still be worth it to those who could pay for them.
My complaint is that an AIS receiver is a pretty simple device, based on
pre-existing technology, and the cost of manufacture
does not in my opinion justify the high prices being charged by some
vendors. In their simplest form, AIS receivers consist of a 1
or 2 channel VHF receiver coupled with a modem to decode the sentences. True
the market is somewhat limited in volume but I still
think that boaters are getting gouged when they pay some of the prices being
asked.
Steve Thomas
C&C27 MKIII
-----Original Message-----
From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Colin
Kilgour
Sent: Saturday, September 28, 2013 9:27 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Stus-List AIS Transponder Info
Steve,
Looks like a cool project - for those who have time and ability for
that kind of stuff.
As for 'cost justifying' AIS, it really depends on the sailing you do.
If you're mostly sailing away from major shipping areas, an AIS
receiver can feel more like a gadget than a tool - and therefore hard
to justify.
If you're sailing offshore or in shipping areas though, it's pretty
much the most cost effective safety tool you can have on the boat,
imo. You can get a receiver for about the same price as a fancy PFD
and you'll get a heluva lot more utility out of your AIS than your
Spinlock life vest. (Btw - not saying you shouldn't wear a life vest,
just that cheaper ones float just as well as expensive ones)
(Disclosure: fwiw, I've done about 10,000 offshore miles with AIS
reception on board and it's been really helpful on many occasions)
Cheers
Colin
On 9/28/13, Steve Thomas <[email protected]> wrote:
And now for something completely different: a kit that will convert a
spare
VHF radio into an AIS receiver that will work with
your laptop and includes plotting software, all for under $100. Not
exactly
an off the shelf bullet proof solution, but it might
be interesting to experiment with if the thought of using a soldering
iron
to install it doesn't leave you faint. I have not tried
it, but for the price I am tempted. Most of the "black box" solutions for
receive only are unjustifiably expensive for what they
actually contain, imho. So far in this discussion, no one has mentioned
the
possibility of using a radio with AIS already built in
by the manufacturer, which is another possible solution. Standard Horizon
makes one, and there may be others.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/AIS-receiver-plotting-navigation-package-/261288551125?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd602e2d5
Steve Thomas
C&C27 MKIII
<SNIP>
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