SAIL.SailMagazine

Standard Horizon’s HX-300 handheld VHF offers a lot of radio in a small floating package, making it a good example of a product in which less is more.

Like GPS, the emergency position-indicating radio beacons, or EPIRBs, that first came to market in the 1980s seemed nothing less than a miracle. But that didn’t stop manufacturers from continuing to refine them in an effort to make them that much more effective. 

SiriusXM Satellite Radio now provides marine forecast information that can be received via select chartplotters from Lowrance, Furuno, Raymarine and Simrad. Sailors can access a similar service from XM Weather using Garmin’s GXM system.

ACR’s ResQLink personal locator beacon weighs just 5.4oz, measures 4.5in long, and features an integrated 66-channel GPS, which allows it to include a position fix in the digital 406MHz distress message it sends to rescuers via the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite constellations.

The NavNet TZtouch multifunction display from Furuno is packed with useful new features, including a Wi-Fi lash-up to smartphones and tablets. The touch-screen controls respond instantly to multi-gesture commands, while an improved RotoKey dial lets the user switch between touch-screen or twist-and-push modes.