I want to give praise to Doug Miller at Milltech Marine (www.milltechmarine.com), a supplier of everything related to AIS. For several years, I have used one of their AIS receivers hardwired to a small chartplotter. Recently, I wanted to upgrade to be able to send the AIS signals via Wi-Fi to my laptop. A few people suggested that Milltech had a dongle that would transmit the AIS data to my laptop, so I purchased the rather inexpensive unit. Being not very computer savvy, I couldnt get the thing to work, so I called Doug for help.
He patiently walked me through the setup. He did not have my navigation software so he made the effort to download a copy so he could determine the correct setting for me. Then he called me back with the instructions. He was very patient, and soon lost in his time whatever profit he made from the dongle sale. My system was soon fully functional.
I then wanted to use the dongle to simultaneously send data to both my laptop and iPad. Try as I might, I just couldnt get it to work. After several email exchanges with Doug, he found the magic recipe. He even sent the exact screenshots of what the settings should be, and then all worked like a champ.
What can I say? I have never had this kind of customer support from a vendor for such a small item. When I upgrade to a better AIS system, Milltech will be my vendor. I am totally impressed with their customer service.
Richard Packar
Dancer, Tiffany Jayne 34
Lilliana, Wilard 40,