Katina Read, Editor of Boating Business presenting Sean McCrystal, Marine Product Marketing Manager at McMurdo with the Award.

McMurdo’s SmartFind G8 AIS, the world’s first AIS EPIRB, received a British Marine Electrical and Electronics Association (BMEEA) Product of the Year award at the trade association’s annual conference.

The conference presents the opportunity for the marine electronics industry to recognise and discuss new innovations, achievements and the future of the industry. Among five major awards, McMurdo’s SmartFind G8 AIS was selected as, “Maritime Product of the Year” by the whole community of BMEEA’s members.

A breakthrough innovation for the marine industry, with a combination of four leading technologies in one device, the McMurdo SmartFind G8 AIS is the world’s first EPIRB to include 406MHz, 121.5MHz, AIS and GNSS (better known as GPS) to accelerate search and rescue.

The unique power of this beacon is in the flexibility and additional tracking capabilities long demanded by maritime customers. This will further reduce rescue times by combining the global location power of 406MHz with the localised rescue capacities of AIS, first introduced to the world in McMurdo’s AIS MOB range.

No other EPIRB has the range of frequencies to increase the speed or accuracy of the alert detection and recovery process. As well as precision technology, the inclusion of AIS in EPIRBs offers additional benefits.

More than 80 per cent of EPIRB activations are accidents, and to combat this the SmartFind G8 AIS features accidental activation prevention button tabs, additional drop protection, accidental activation prevention carry bracket, multiple self-tests to ensure the unit is viable and an internal hands-free carry strap.

Additional key features of the SmartFind G8 AIS include QuadrotechTM Technology for accelerated rescue – containing four search and rescue support frequencies, built-in AIS for localised rescue support, multiple GNSS (GPS) sources, a 10-year battery, 360 degree strobe, Easy Service Battery and multiple accidental activation prevention features.

 

 

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