Quark-elec Manual
4 of 10
2018
V1.0
2. Setup
In the box you should have:
1 x QK-A021 V2.0
1 x SMA-BNC coaxial adapter
1 x USB extension cable
1 x CD with manuals and drivers
The QK-A021 is an entry level single channel AIS receive-only unit, which allows you to
receive AIS messages direct to your laptop or other devices via USB. Entry level, pocket
sized and pocket friendly.
1. To start setting up QK-A021, please ensure there are valid AIS signals present. Without
receiving valid AIS signals, the device will output “no valid AIS messages” every 2 minutes.
The AIS system works on the marine VHF band, which is considered to be ‘line of sight’
radio. What this means is that if the QK-A021 antenna cannot see the antenna of the
vessels, the AIS signals from vessels will not reach the QK-A021. Practically, this is not
strictly a requirement, few buildings and trees between them will still be fine. Larger
obstacles such as hills and mountains, on the other hand, will significantly degrade the AIS
signals.
2. Connect the module to a suitable VHF antenna. BNC or N type adaptors can be used to
connect QK-A021 with different types of external VHF antennae:
3. To enable the USB data connection of QK-A021 to other devices, related hardware drivers
may be needed dependent on system requirements.
BNC connector with cable
SMA Cable
N type connector with cable
