GPS Marine Navigation with AIS Collision Detection using just your phone.
About Boat Beacon - AIS Navigation
Boat Beacon - AIS Navigation is a maps & navigation app developed by Electric Pocket.
Download Statistics
Boat Beacon - AIS Navigation has been downloaded 20 thousand times. In the last 30 days, the app was downloaded 130 times.
User Ratings
Boat Beacon - AIS Navigation is rated 3.23 out of 5 stars. The rating is based on 290 ratings.
App Information
Boat Beacon - AIS Navigation costs $14.99 to download. The APK download size is 4.71 MB. The latest version available is 2.99. The last update was on June 5, 2026.
Technical Requirements
Boat Beacon - AIS Navigation requires Android 5.0+ or higher. The app has a content rating of Everyone. The app has been available on Google Play August 2012.
Description
AIS receiver, transmitter and display using just your Android device.
Boat Beacon is the only Marine AIS ship tracking app that provides Collision Detection, use real-time data and can share your own boat’s position with other internet AIS users.
As well as showing all the Ships around you on a chart, Boat Beacon provides Bearing, Range and Closest Point of Approach (CPA) calculations in addition to AIS ship information. Continuously monitors CPA, notifying if potential collisions are detected and transmits to other AIS systems even when the app is in the background.
Key Features ------------ Receives and sends AIS ship data in real-time via the internet. No VHF AIS receiver, transponder or aerial required.
Over the horizon Collision and SART detection (30 miles radius) using continuous Closest Point of Approach (CPA) calculations - highlights boats that are on a potential collision course and alarms even when the app is in the background.
Provides Bearing and Distance information to other boats in addition to AIS information like speed, course, location, name, length etc. Shows you a track of the boats most recent voyage.
Share your live position, speed course and destination. People can follow you using Boat Beacon or our free Boat Watch app and on leading internet AIS systems like MarineTraffic and Ship Finder. Transmit also works continuously in the background when enabled.
Live Map view with compass overlay which rotates with you so you can look in the direction of the ships on the map to locate them. You can also tilt the map to get a 3D perspective by dragging upwards with two fingers.
NOAA US and UKHO Marine Charts (IAP required)
Extensive details on other ships including Photos.
Search for boats or places by name or MMSI.
Share your track and position with friends and family instantly and in real time via email, Twitter and Facebook etc.
AIS Share lets you share BoatBeacon's live AIS data with other apps like Navionics on your device. (IAP required with free 3 day trial) and via NMEA0183 and NMEA2000 to MFDs like the Garmin, Echomap and Simrad/Lowrance/B&G
Man Overboard (MOB), Anchor & Theft Watch:- -MOB tracks the position, distance, bearing & time in water. -Anchor Watch marks your anchor's position & alerts if you drift out of range or too fast (IAP with free 3 day trial).
Arm all the crews in a race with Boat Beacon and see real time updates on the race positions. Watch the action and replay it back in the Club-house with Boat Beacon's dedicated live race web pages.
VHF AIS with RTL-SDR and AIS Share app.
Local NMEA AIS via Wifi and USB.
Boat Beacon requires internet access to work. Most popular coastal areas around the world including the US and UK have mobile data access (2G or better) extending 12 or more miles out to sea.
Requirements: Android Smartphone or Tablet with GPS. Internet connection.
You do not need an MMSI to use Boat Beacon and you can be seen on Boat Beacon by other Boat Beacon users without having one. However if you want to be seen on Global AIS systems like Marine Traffic, Ship Finder and AIS Hub, etc. then you will need to have and use an MMSI number. If you don't have an MMSI for your boat you can obtain one in the US by visiting http://www.boatus.com/mmsi (the USCG approved agent). Alternatively email us for a free internet MMSI number.
Please note that continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
AIS Ship data is provided by a network of voluntary AIS shore based stations. Some areas may not have AIS coverage.
N.B. This is not an AIS transponder. You will not be visible to other ships on their AIS systems unless they also use data from the same land based AIS networks.
NOT FOR NAVIGATION This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful. Boat Beacon should only be used for basic navigation reference and should not be solely relied upon to determine precise locations, proximity, distance, or direction.
Recent changes: Introducing our SeaNav Marine Navigation app with Charts, routes, weather & tides plus free AIS for Boat Beacon users
Map view now full screen
Option to use Course Over Ground (COG) instead of heading for own boat display.
AIS AtoNs now drawing at correct angle.
Satellite view now shows place and location names.
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Comments on Boat Beacon - AIS Navigation for Android
★★★★★Alvin Mays· Jan 20, 2017
I bought a newer AIS receiver to work with my Galaxy S6, it didn’t work. I contacted Boat Beacon and explained the problem; and after a few e-mails back and forth they had a free update available on Play Store within an hour after the solution was implemented. I used Boat Beacon on my Galaxy S6 with my old AIS receiver from Panama to Texas and was never concerned about ships or commercial vessels passing too close to my sailboat.
★★★★★John Yates· Jun 2, 2016
Great for traffic but not for broadcasting ship Difficult to set up own ships sis number and vhf AIs don't seem to see it
★★★★★A Google user· Sep 2, 2018
Great app, simple to use. Not burdened down with many options like Marine Traffic. Boat Beacon updates quicker and does not leave those old ship positions which are hours old like Marine Traffic does. I like the rotating map. More orientated to small boat users and features a collision alarm. As with all AIS apps, some areas are not covered by shore stations - this is not the fault of the app. If you have any problems, you get a quick response from the developer.
★☆☆☆☆Ceasar carcus· Sep 9, 2016
REFUND NEEDED Boat Beacon seems to have ceased working properly for me. I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 5, running OS Android 7.0 Nougat. The chart does not move, relocate, zoom-in, zoom-out or otherwise rotate away from my current location. This occurred after only having the app for 1 week and paying $9.99 for AIS Navigation, $9.90 for Marine Charts Update, $4.99 for Live View, --------- $24.88 = Grand Total I will prefer to have this situation rectified, but I am asking for a full refund instead.
★★☆☆☆Joakim Westin· Jul 13, 2021
Way too expensive compared to similar apps, very disappointed that the AIS sharing was both an app purchase plus subscription. Not impressed
★☆☆☆☆George Neal· May 29, 2020
Would not recommend this app at all. Boat position is all over the place, sometimes on land. It then comes back to the water, but not where my boat is. Alert goes off when I am anchored and no nearby boats are moving. Also sends battery alert when my tablet is 87% charged. They tell me it is the gps settings but gps works fine with avionics, Google Maps and live ships. Then its extra money to use it with avionics, a yearly fee of A$40. Very unsatisfied customer, a waste of money.
★☆☆☆☆Clogan Sanchez· Feb 1, 2022
Can not get the right gps position and can not search for other vessels
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