Connect your AIS receiver to Rynda
Updated November 2, 20265 min read
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The Rynda station network is a network of AIS receivers run by contributors: you send AIS lines from your own receiver to rynda.io, and after 7 days of steady work you get the PRO plan for free. The lines go into Rynda products and services. Joining is free; we do not provide equipment.
What do I need to join?
- Your own AIS receiver: an antenna and receiving software — at home, in the office, on the coast or on board.
- UDP output: the receiver sends NMEA 0183 lines (!AIVDM) over UDP. These work: docker-shipfeeder, AIS-catcher, rtl-ais, and any receiver or program with UDP output.
- An ordinary internet connection: no static IP address and no incoming connections are needed. AIS lines take kilobytes per minute.
How do I connect a station?
- Open the station network page: in the site menu, in the Station network section, choose Become a contributor. On the page, click the Become a contributor button.
- Sign up. The I run an AIS receiver role and Connect an AIS station are already selected; tick I accept the terms of participation in the station network. If you already have an account, click Sign in — you land in My AIS stations.
- In My AIS stations, click Add station. Enter the station name, the antenna location on the map or by coordinates, the antenna height above water (optional, 0–500 m) and the receiver. If the station is on a ship, also enter the Vessel MMSI. If you have not accepted the terms yet, tick I accept the terms of participation in the station network. Click Create station.
- The Connection block shows the address and your own port, plus ready-made settings lines for the receiver you chose. Copy them into the receiver settings.
- Watch the Connection test block. Within minutes of the first line it shows We hear your station!
No lines for 10 minutes? Check the address and port, that your router lets outgoing UDP through, and that NMEA output is switched on in the receiver program.
What does my account show for each station?
| Item | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Status | Receiving, Silent, Waiting for the first line, Data paused or Disabled, and the time of the last line |
| Valid lines by hour | A chart for the last 24 hours, valid and invalid lines |
| Vessels | Vessels heard in the last hour and in the last 24 hours |
| What the station hears | A map of vessels heard in the last hour |
| Data pauses | When data from the station was paused and when the pause ended |
What do I get for a working station?
| Condition or benefit | Value |
|---|---|
| Counted day | At least 20 hours with valid lines and at least one vessel heard |
| When PRO is switched on | After 7 counted days in a row and a check by our team |
| Reports | 3 a month from one allowance: a vessel dossier or a shipowner report, your choice |
| Documents included in PRO | Available to you as to any PRO subscriber |
| If you pay for a plan | If your paid plan includes more, the paid plan applies; the reward does not cancel a payment |
| When the reward ends | When all your stations are silent for 14 days in a row or switched off, or by an administrator's decision |
The PRO for your station block in My AIS stations shows the progress as "N of 7 days" and the status of your request. The reward is not a payment: it is a free plan and a report allowance.
What are the terms of participation?
- You share AIS lines from your own receiver, and Rynda uses them in its products and services.
- We do not pass your station's lines to third parties as a separate feed.
- Only you and Rynda administrators see the exact antenna location. Publicly it is shown no more precisely than a few kilometres.
- Up to 5 stations per account; each station gets its own port.
- You can switch a station off at any time with Delete station. Lines shared before that stay with Rynda; to bring a station back, write to support@rynda.io.
- If a station's positions disagree with other sources, data from it is paused until a person checks the station.
The full text is in the AIS Station Network Terms of Participation.
Can I connect a receiver on a ship?
Yes. Enter the ship's number in the Vessel MMSI field of the station settings, and the antenna location will follow the ship, in port and at sea. The station works this way both when it is connected to the ship's AIS transponder and with a separate receiver on board. If the location falls behind (for example, after a long break in connection at sea), data resumes once the ship is back within range of coastal stations, or you can update the location with Edit. Without the MMSI, update the antenna location with Edit when the ship moves far from the saved location.