Browsing: Icom

Electronics
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New Icom Sat Phone for Worldwide Connections

The new Icom IC-SAT100 provides worldwide real-time communication at the push of a button. Icom says it’s the world’s first satellite PTT (Press To Talk) mobile radio that uses the Iridium satellite communication network. The new radio provides communication between a group of people at any time, anywhere in the world, including both poles. It uses the 66 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites of the Iridium network. The regular IC-SAT100 can be a fixed mount on a vessel, a vehicle, or in a building. The IC-SAT100M is a mobile device (pictured at top) that can work within 400 feet of…

Cruising Life
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Icom Launches New SSB at METS Show

Icom just unveiled its new state-of-the-art SSB at the big METS marine trade show in Amsterdam. Designed for offshore cruising, the new Icom IC-M804 provides long-range MF and HF radio communications designed to keep you safe anywhere in the world. The new Icom has a DSC radio that scans six distress signals, a distress call button and an integrated GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) providing global coverage through a constellation of satellites. The Icom conforms to the latest European and international standards. SSB radios have been used in offshore vessels for generations. (When Eric Schweikardt, the photographer, and I drove…

Cruising Life
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New ICOM VHF: First Handheld with AIS

ICOM just launched its new breakthrough IC-M94D handheld VHF, the first in the world with built-in AIS. Combined with DSC (Distress Signal Calling), AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a boon to boating safety and secure navigation. Until now, AIS was limited to larger VHF units and helm-mounted display screens. With the new Icom, you can have all the safety and communications features (receive only) of AIS in the palm of your hand. You can use it on a smaller boat, a dink or simply as a back-up system on a larger vessel. The M94D is a significant VHF even without…

Electronics
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Raymarine, Vesper, Win Big at Best New Electronics Awards

The National Marine Electronics Association just gave 18 awards for best new products at their annual meeting in Portsmouth, Virginia. The awards were chosen by a five-person panel of judges. The Top award, the NMEA Technology Award, based on innovation, benefit to boaters, practicality and value, went to the Raymarine/FLIR ClearCruise AR (pictured above). Here’s what the judges said: “ClearCruise AR is an industry-first technology that combines augmented reality and advanced image stabilization to help boaters make smarter and faster navigation decisions by placing visual overlays of nav aids, AIS traffic and destination waypoints on Raymarine Axiom multi-function displays. The…

Cruising Life
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Iridium and Icom Launch First Worldwide Push-to-Talk Radio

Iridium just joined with Icom to provide the first global, satellite-based, push-to-talk radio for real-time communication with anyone in the world. Iridium is working with the Icom IC-SAT100 radio for this service. The Icom IC-SAT100 can operate with existing land-mobile radio networks and it can be managed over the air through an Iridium command center. The service opens up new communications beyond the range of trunked radio networks, and it will be available through Iridium’s and Icom’s existing partner networks. “This new satellite PTT (push-to-talk) device is unlike anything ever offered commercially in terms of capability,” said Bryan Hartin, executive…

On Watch
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On Watch

12 Great New Boating Holiday Gifts from $80 to $6,911 By Peter A. Janssen The holidays are rapidly approaching, as is the age-old quandary of what to give to your boat-owning family or friends. Here are some ideas, from big to small, that may help. IRocker All-Around SUP Here’s an inflatable standup paddleboard that fits into a backpack but is stable enough to support 435 pounds (that should be enough for two of you). The board itself weighs just 27 pounds, but when you put it into its big blue backpack with its paddle, pump and fin, the entire package…

Cruising Life
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New Icom Fixed-Mount VHF/DSC: Everything You Need in a Slim, Compact Package

Icom just announced its new compact IC-M33OGE fixed-mount VHF/DSC radio at the London boat show. The new radio, with a display about the size of a smartphone, is one of the smallest in the world, and it’s designed to be installed in any area of your boat where space is limited. Despite its size, the new IC-M33OGE has the same interface and performance as Icom’s larger radios, with intuitive, easy-to-use soft keys for fast access to all its functions. And its new speaker delivers distortion-free audio even at full volume. The new VHF includes an integral GPS, which provides your…

Electronics
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Furuno and Garmin Win Big at NMEA Awards

The National Marine Electronics Association named 16 winners at its annual expo, giving its annual Technology Award to Furuno’s DRS4D-NXT Doppler solid-state radar (pictured above), plus 15  “Product of Excellence” awards to other companies. Garmin was the big winner overall, being named the NMEA’s Manufacturer of the Year for the second straight year. Here’s the NMEA’s official statement. NMEA NAMES 2016 PRODUCT AWARD WINNERS AT CONFERENCE & EXPO NMEA Product of Excellence Award presented in 16 categories Garmin repeats as Manufacturer of the Year-Support Furuno Doppler radar wins NMEA Technology Award SEVERNA PARK, MD—The marine electronics industry honored several manufacturers…