FORT LAUDERDALE — FLIR Systems is introducing three VHF radios at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and will soon come to the market with its own electrical switching control system, marketing director Jim Hands told Active Interest Media journalists during a “Meet the Editors” event Wednesday at the show.
The new radios are the Ray70 ($649), Ray60 ($299) and Ray50 ($249). They replace the 218, 55 and 49 VHF models, Hands said. The products will hit the market in January.
The Ray 70 is a multifunction VHF with GPS and AIS receiver, loudhailer and an intercom. The Ray 60 has all of the features of the Ray 70, but no GPS or AIS. The Ray 50 is the “lower-cost, space-saver” radio, Hands said. All of the radios boast easy-to-read LCD displays with red backlighting and simple operation with intuitive icons and menus.
The Raymarine Digital Switch Control System “can control pretty much everything on the boat with a switch on it,” Hands said. Raymarine will make a formal introduction of the product at the Sea Ray Yacht Expo in December, he said.
Raymarine is working with the makers of Empirbus NXT, the Swedish company Trigentic AB, to produce its product, Hands said. The system is installed on a Sea Ray 350 SLX, which is on display at the show.
