NMEA hands out annual awards

Standard Horizon's Matrix AIS GX2100, a fixed-mount VHF radio with built-in automatic identification system receivers and display, was named the winner of the National Marine Electronics Association Technology Award for 2010.

Three veteran marine journalists and editors from Boating Writers International selected the winner and two honorable mentions from 10 entries, based on innovation, benefit to boaters, practicality and value.

"It was an incredibly difficult choice," judge Ben Ellison said. He described the winning product as a "remarkable achievement to integrate four separate receivers into one compact device that works well. It offers a significant benefit in terms of safety-AIS monitoring for smaller boats and it's a tremendous value. The Matrix AIS is less expensive than the separate VHF Class D transceiver and a dual-channel AIS receiver it replaces and has features generally not available with separates."

In addition to the winning product, judges awarded honorable mentions to FLIR Systems' First Mate hand-held thermal imager and Simrad's NSE multifunction display with version 2.0 software.

Also presented at the NMEA's annual Conference & Expo in Seattle were Product and Manufacturer of the Year Awards for 2010. The winners are:

Autopilot: Simrad AP24/AP28 Autopilot System with NSE Integration

Fish Finding: Furuno FCV295 Digital Fish Finder

Radar: Furuno NavNet 3D DRS Ultra Hi-Definition Radar Series

Communication: KVH TracPhone V7

Entertainment: KVH TracVision M1

Navigation: Furuno NavNet 3-D MFD12 Multifunction Display

Marine Specialty: 1st Place, FLIR First Mate Pro Handheld Thermal Imager; 2nd Place, Furuno SC30 Satellite Compass

Manufacturer of the Year-Support: Furuno