#"ais"

2 articles tagged with ""ais""

AIS: I Built a Real-Time Ship Radar With a $25 USB Stick and Now I Can't Stop Watching Boats 🚢📡

Turns out every ship in the ocean is broadcasting its position, speed, cargo, and destination in plain text over the radio — and your RTL-SDR can hear all of it. I tuned in expecting to see a couple of tugboats. I found container ships, oil tankers, coast guard vessels, and one very suspicious yacht named 'Totally Legitimate Business.'

Mar 21, 2026

"rf""sdr""wireless"

12 min read

AIS: I'm Now Tracking Ships Like a Real-Life Maritime Traffic Controller 🚢📡

I pointed my RTL-SDR at 162MHz and suddenly became aware of every cargo ship, tanker, ferry, and tugboat within 50 miles. Their names. Their destinations. Their speeds. Their cargo types. Broadcasting in plain air for anyone to receive. I've been living near the sea my whole life and had no idea this was happening.

Feb 22, 2026