Boating Industry Intelligence You Can Profit From
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Simrad’s BR24 Broadband Radar was the first recipient of the new NMEA Technology Award, presented last week 2009 NMEA Convention & Expo, according to a release from NMEA.
The radar beat out a field of 14 nominated products, as judged by an independent panel from Boating Writers International. The purpose of the new award, according to NMEA, is to recognize recently introduced products and single out the “best” based on a combination of innovative design, benefits to boaters, practicality and value.
Chuck Husick, technical editor for BoatUS magazine and a judge for the event, said in the release that the Simrad BR24 Broadband Radar was a “game-changing product” with superior target definition, a lower power draw, rapid cold start, a small radome and extremely low radiation emissions that will bring superior, solid state-radar technology to more boaters at a manageable price.
The N2K Builder by Maretron, a free PC-based tool for designing and verifying the integrity of NMEA 2000 networks, and the Navionics Mobile iPhone application were granted honorable mentions.
Judges included Ben Ellison, senior electronics editor for Bonnier Marine Group; Dean Travis Clarke, executive editor of Sport Fishing, Marlin, and Fly Fishing magazines; Chuck Husick; and Zuzana Prochazka, technical editor for Latitudes & Attitudes magazine.
NMEA also named the recipients of the NMEA Product Awards that are voted on by NMEA member dealers, Certified Marine Electronics Technician (CMET) dealers, and technicians who repair and service marine electronics.
NMEA Product Award Recipients in product categories included the following:
Autopilot – Navico for the Simrad AP24 AP28 Series
Fish Finding – Furuno USA for the Furuno FCV585 Digital Fish Finsder
Radar – Furuno USA for the Furuno NavNet 3D DRS Ultra Hi-Def Radar Series
Communication – ICOM American for the Icom M604 VHF
Entertainment – KVH Industires for the KVH Trac Vision M1
Navigation – Furuno USA for the Furuno NavNet 3D MFDl2 Multi-Function Display
Marine Specialty – FLIR Systems for the Navigator II
The recipient of the “Manufacturer of the Year – Support” award was Furuno USA.
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