Camas, WA – October 3, 2018. The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) held its 47th annual conference and expo in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida last week. Each year, marine electronics manufacturers, dealers and installers from around the country gather for four days filled with training and exhibition of the latest products from each manufacturer. The NMEA Conference and Expo is also where the association reveals their exclusive NMEA "Product of Excellence" awards for the year, where Furuno proved their dominance in the sensor market by once again bringing home the coveted awards for Best Radar, Best Fish Finder and more.
With its ability to see deeper than any of its competitors, the DFF3D Multi-Beam Sonar was named the 2018 "Product of Excellence – Fish Finder." It delivers a side scan detection range of an unprecedented 650+ feet while being able to see straight down over 1,000 feet. While the DFF3D is at home in both deep and shallow water for finding fish, wrecks, and structure, it is also remarkably easy to use. Fish targets are shown in 3D within the water column, allowing you to pinpoint fishing hot spots and mark them as waypoints. Amazingly, waypoints also contain depth data, so you'll know right where to drop your line!
Furuno's DRS4D-NXT Solid-State Doppler Radar for NavNet TZtouch and TZtouch2 was awarded "Product of Excellence – Radar" for 2018. The DRS4D-NXT's use of Doppler technology enables features such as Target Analyzer, where the echoes dynamically change colors as targets approach or move away from your vessel, increasing safety and situational awareness at a glance. "After winning the NMEA Technology Award for the past two years in a row, we are honored and humbled to have the DRS4D-NXT named 'Best Radar' for 2018," said Brad Reents, President and CFO of Furuno USA. "Furuno's unmatched sensor technology has always been our specialty, and we're extremely pleased that the NMEA members have recognized the DRS4D-NXT and DFF3D once again for being the best sensors."
Winning the award each year since the category was first introduced three years ago, Furuno's FAR2127 25kW IMO Radar claimed the title for "Product of Excellence – Commercial." This workhorse Radar, which is part of a more extensive family that includes both X-Band and S-Band Radars, can be found installed on thousands of commercial vessels worldwide and is also widely used on larger recreational boats and yachts.
Underscoring Furuno's dominance in sensor capabilities, two more Furuno products brought home awards this week. The new SC33 Satellite Compass was named "Product Of Excellence – NMEA2000 Sensor" for it's incredibly accurate heading, pitch & roll, and heaving information, thanks to its dual GNSS antennas and advanced signal processing. Coupled with the sensor's 3-axis gyro and acceleration hardware, the SC33 is able to provide precise attitude information to enhance the capabilities of navigation equipment such as Radar, Plotter, Autopilot, Fish Finder and Sonar.
The winner in the category of "Product of Excellence – AIS" was the new FA170 Class A AIS Transponder, displaying information for AIS-equipped vessels, SART's, coastal stations and other ATN (Aids To Navigation) within VHF range. It provides an impressive 6 input/output ports, 3 input-only ports, 1 LAN port, 1 Alarm Output port, and is BAM (Bridge Alert Management) ready. The FA170 is also capable of exchanging short safety-related messages with other vessels via VHF, packing a variety of essential functionality into an easy-to-install package.
While new to the market, the Navpilot 300 Gesture Control Autopilot was also one of three finalists in the Technology Award Category. This revolutionary new Autopilot uses Bluetooth signals from the handheld gesture controller, making is possible to control the Autopilot from anywhere on the boat within 10 meters of the helm. Just push, hold the button, point to the desired heading and release to change course.
Furuno's long and distinguished tradition of producing top performing and highly reliable products was affirmed once again with these awards from the NMEA, bringing Furuno's grand total to an astounding 225 NMEA awards!
For more information on Furuno's full line of award-winning marine electronics, contact: Furuno U.S.A., 4400 N.W. Pacific Rim Blvd., Camas, WA 98607. Phone: (360) 834-9300. www.FurunoUSA.com
