Furuno repeated as the annual winner of the NMEA Technology Award — this time for its multibeam sonar, DFF-3D — and Garmin won Manufacturer of the Year for the third time running at the 46th annual National Marine Electronics Association conference and expo in Bellevue, Washington, which ended Sept. 28.
Furuno won the tech prize in 2016 for its DRS4D-NXT solid-state radar. A panel of four judges, including media and dealers, sifts through nominated products and decides each year on the technology winner.
“Though many innovative features of the new DFF-3D Multi-Beam Sonar contributed to it winning the 2017 NMEA Technology Award, the game-changing feature is the fact that it delivers a side-scan detection range of an unprecedented 650-plus feet, while being able to see straight down over 1,000 feet,” Furuno says. “The DFF-3D is completely at home in both deep and shallow water for finding fish, wrecks, and structure. It is remarkably easy to use and understand and brings you the ability to see the underwater world all around your vessel in real-time. Fish targets are shown in 3D within the water column, allowing you to pinpoint fishing hot spots and mark them as waypoints.”
NMEA members select the Manufacturer of the Year and Product of Excellence Award winners through an online voting process. This year’s top products included:
Autopilot — Garmin GHP Reactor Multifunction 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
