NMEA names 2017 product award winners
The marine electronics industry honored several manufacturers with product awards at the annual National Marine Electronics Association International Marine Electronics Conference & Expo, held on the West Coast this year at the Hilton Bellevue in Bellevue, Wash., Sept. 26-28. Top products were named for both the NMEA Product of Excellence Awards and the NMEA Technology Award. Hundreds of marine electronics manufacturers, dealers, distributors, media and others from the U.S. and abroad attended the three-day event.
NMEA members selected the Product of Excellence Award winners through an online voting process. There were 18 product categories this year, including two new ones: Marine PC Software and Remote Vessel Monitoring System. Garmin was awarded the Manufacturer of the Year for support of their products in the field.
2017 NMEA Product of Excellence Award winners
- Autopilot – Garmin GHP Reactor
- Multi-Function Display – Garmin GPSMAP 8624
- Radar – Garmin GMR 24 Fantom Dome
- Fish Finder – Garmin GSD 26 CHIRP Pro Sonar Module
- Marine VHF Radio – Icom M605
- Satellite Communications Antenna – KVH TracPhone V3IP
- Underwater Lights – Lumishore EOS TIX402
- Commercial – Furuno FAR2127 IMO Radar
- Marine PC Software – Nobeltec TZ Professional
- Satellite TV Antenna – KVH TracVision TV3
- AIS – Garmin AIS 600 Blackbox Transceiver
- NMEA 2000 Sensor – Actisense NGT-1
- Marine App-Aids to Navigation – Garmin BlueChart
- Marine App-Technical – Garmin Helm
- Marine Camera – FLIR M-625
- Multimedia Entertainment – Fusion MS-AV750
- Safety Device – McMurdo SmartFind G5 Auto GPS EPIRB
- Remote Vessel Monitoring System – GOST Phantom Insight HD
Furuno’s DFF3D deep-water multi-beam sonar won the 2017 NMEA Technology Award in a competition involving 10 nominated products. The annual award scores new products based on innovation, benefit to boaters, practicality and value. An independent four-person panel of judges selected the winner. Judges included NMEA Certified Marine Electronics Technicians Steve Wallace of Lunde Marine Electronics and Greg Pohl of Yacht Systems Northwest along with boating electronics writer David Schmidt and Marine Electronics Journal editor Jim Fullilove.
“What stood out about the Furuno DFF3D from the many worthy contenders is that it is the industry’s first deep-water multi-beam sonar,” the judges said. “It delivers a side-scan range of more than 650 feet and can see straight down to over 1,000 feet. Its unique 165 kHz frequency allows you to view the DFF3D sonar while simultaneously utilizing your conventional or CHIRP sonar. On top of that boaters can customize its display using four modes-cross-section, 3D sounder history, triple/single-beam sounder and side scan.”
“On behalf of the NMEA Board of Directors and staff, we congratulate all award recipients,” said Mark Reedenauer, president & executive director of NMEA. “Member voting turnout remains strong and we thank all members who voted. The NMEA Awards Committee will continually be looking for ways to increase voter turnout as we look to 2018.”
