Oct 1, 2019

On September 19th, Furuno enjoyed an exciting evening of recognition at the 2019 NMEA Products of Excellence Awards ceremony, bringing home 5 plaques for their revolutionary products, including the coveted awards for Radar and Fish Finder. This brings Furuno’s total to a staggering 230 NMEA Awards, more than any other two manufacturers combined!  

In the Radar category, Furuno’s DRS4DNXT took home the top prize. The DRS4DNXT is a 25W Solid-State Doppler Radar in a compact 24″ radome, featuring innovative Furuno technologies such as Target Analyzer and Fast Target Tracking. The DRS4DNXT is the first Furuno Radar to utilize their exclusive RezBoost Beam Sharpening, providing an incredibly detailed Radar image with more targets and less clutter. 

In 2019 as in 2018, Furuno’s ground-breaking (and ground-mapping!) DFF3D took the award for Fish Finder, following the 2017 “Technology Award” win. The DFF3D takes fishfinding to new depths, with a 120-degree view from port to starboard, showing fish depth, location under the boat and the direction fish are moving, as well as displaying the seabed condition in real-time. Intuitive and easy-to-understand display modes bring the underwater world to life like never before. 

The SC33 Satellite Compass took this years’ award for NMEA 2000 Sensor. The SC33’s compact dome offers incredibly accurate attitude information for navigation equipment via two GNSS antennas, 3-axis rate gyro, and acceleration sensors. The gyro and rate sensors allow the SC33 to calculate highly accurate roll and pitch data without requiring a third GNSS sensor. 

In the AIS category, top honors went to the FA170 Class A AIS Transponder with 4.3″ Color LCD Display. This versatile unit has multiple ports to output reliable AIS data to all of the ship’s navigation systems. The unit is BAM (Bridge Alert Management) ready, offers Silent Mode capability and has an option for use as an Encrypted AIS or E-AIS as well. 

Finally, in the Commercial category, the star of the evening was Furuno’s FAR2228BB Radar. This brand-new, 25kW IMO Radar won this competitive category as a first-time NMEA Award Nominee. Decades of Furuno innovation have gone into this new series of IMO Radar, along with new features such as Automatic Clutter Elimination (ACE), Fast Target Tracking, and a familiar but totally fresh user interface. The Radar’s new hardware, including refined antennas and gearboxes, provide excellent reliability and decrease the overall costs of ownership while making installation and maintenance easier than ever.

Beyond setting standards for electronic interfaces, communication protocols and functionality for navigation equipment, the mission of the NMEA is to contribute to the development and popularization of the marine electronics industry. Each year, the NMEA recognizes products of excellence with superior design, performance, and reliability, as voted on by NMEA members. Because NMEA membership is reserved for dealers, distributors, industry experts, and NMEA-approved technicians, and they each vote for who they feel should win the awards, Furuno’s undisputed leadership in NMEA Award wins is a testament to their reputation for excellence and reliability among marine professionals and customers around the world. Furuno offers its sincere congratulations to the other deserving award winners this year.

For complete details on the these award-winning Furuno models, as well as their full line of quality marine electronics, see your Furuno dealer, or visit them on the web at www.FurunoUSA.com.