“We just released a blue one. Nice fish. 400,” you say into your VHF radio transceiver that’s mounted in the helm.
The bite was not random. It wasn’t a sonar fish. You found it the old-fashioned way. The way that captains and boat owners have been communicating with each other for more than 100 years. Your buddy called you over, hailing you on Channel 68 on the VHF.
Talking on the VHF you perhaps haven’t given this piece of equipment much thought.
The Icom that’s mounted on the helm of this boat is much like the Icom VHF setup you’ve had on just about every boat you’ve ever run. If you really think about it, Icom VHFs are as central a part of the offshore fishing experience as rigged ballyhoo and pitch baits.
Icom VHFs are universal—used in sportfishing and commercial boating around the world. They are prepared, always ready, as prepared for run-of-the-mill fishing talk as they are for emergency communications. The company’s packages include a full suite of fixed mount and removable VHF radio options.
In the age of digital this and digital that, when disruptive technologies have transformed the landscapes of products, services, and entire industries, VHF radios remain as universal and widely relied upon as ever. Whether you’re running a center console or sportfisher or crewing a workboat or freighter, it is the VHF radio that connects you and your boat with the world.
What follows is a brand story of a company whose products are durable and ubiquitous enough that you might not notice them. They are so reliable and so widely used that many don’t give them a second thought. This is the story of a company that has been connecting fishermen, boaters and people for more than 60 years.
It is the story of a company that is continually evolving, investing in technology, service and capacity. It is the story of Icom and the story of VHF radio’s continued dominance of marine communication.
The Origins and Benefits of VHF Radio
VHF (very high frequency) radios are perhaps the benchmark in marine communications around the world. There are several reasons for its widespread use:
- They allow communication with boats, marinas, bridges and the Coast Guard—all via established channels that are open and available to anyone and any facility with the proper equipment.
- VHF waves are weather-resistant. You can count on being able to use your VHF even in very rough weather.
- VHF allows location tracking of vessels that are using it for communication. This allows emergency response and vessel location even at night or in fog.
- VHF communications are portable, you can communicate from fixed, mounted systems or handheld, stand-alone units.
These benefits tell part of the story as to why VHF radios are so widely used.
The other part of the technology’s global dominance in marine communication relates to its history and the network that has grown over the past 80 years.
While the origins of ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communications began in the early 1900s—these were largely precursors to modern VHF radio. Among the most famous were Morse Code transmissions and the Marconi Company’s radio operators who sent the distress calls from the Titanic. An early version of VHF was used for ship-to-ship communication during World War II. The technology’s modern variant, however, emerged in the 1950s, with the first FM radio broadcast taking place in 1955.
The result, some 70 years after VHF’s widespread adoption, is a global communication network that touches every corner of recreational and commercial boating. The technology is still used today for the same reasons it was so widely adopted in the first place.
Icom: A Full-Service Communication Company
Icom offers a full line of fixed-mount and removable VHF radios. In the VHF space, the company’s offerings include everything from feature-rich packages (with CommandMics tm and a network of linked devices), to compact helm-mounted VHF packages made for center consoles and portable, hand-held units.
The company’s products are known not only by durability and quality, but by the commitment to service. Icom’s website is an incredible resource of technical information about not just its products, but about the compatibility of boat systems and how to integrate VHF and other technologies into your operation.
The IC-M510 EVO is perhaps the flagship feature-rich VHF platforms. It is an all-in-one command center that is NMEA 2000 compliant and includes WLAN capacity. This means that it integrates with other systems that are also NMEA 2000 compliant.
The IC-M510 EVO can be hooked up to CommandMics that can be distributed around the boat. CommandMics, such as the HM-195GB, open an incredible array of capabilities.
This capacity allows the captain (at the helm) to communicate with people in the engine room, galley, cockpit, tower, or other parts of the boat. This integration with CommandMics and smartphones allows the users to control the boat’s radio and intercom from anywhere on the boat.
The 510 EVO is smartphone-compatible, features noise-canceling technology (speaking of the engine room), and can be connected to Icom’s MA-510TR transponder (a capacity that provides real-time AIS data such as vessel speed, position, and course). It allows you to control radar and other systems through its clear, digital screen.
As a command center, the IC-M510 EVO also features a “Distress” button that can be triggered in emergency situations. Its design is sleek and award-winning and the unit can be mounted on the helm within a glass case.
VHF Packages for Center Consoles
Icom’s VHF center console offerings are equally impressive. The IC-M510BB is a VHF Marine Transceiver that is ideal for vessels with less helm space.
It features a multi-piece, CommandMic and black box configuration. The unit allows you to set up three stations on board, each with VHF compatibility. All of this comes with NMEA 2000 and NMEA 0183 compliance. This supports the ability to plug and play with compatible multifunction displays and other pre-existing hardware and boat systems.
Other features include noise-canceling technology, digital select calling and integrated AIS receiver monitors to track the movement of other vessels. The IC-M510BB also provides an intercom feature, voice recording and playback functionality, RX hailer and foghorn and more.
This option is tailor-made for the modern high-performance center console landscape.
Handhelds and Portable VHFs
Icom handheld VHF units open a world of possibility. For traveling operations, they allow visitors and crews to keep in contact with the boat while provisioning, cruising around in the tender, or fishing the flats. Beyond the safety benefits of this capacity, it also removes the availability (or lack thereof) of cell service from the equation.
For decades Icom has been a leader in portable, handheld VHF technology. The company’s modern leader in the market is the IC-M94D.
Not only is IC-M94D perfect for traveling operations, but it’s ideal for small boats looking to stay connected. It is also the first handheld VHF to feature an AIS receiver and digital select calling capacity in the same package. Its full-service ability provides peace of mind for life rafts and ditch bags as well.
Beyond clear, reliable communication the IC-M94D is waterproof (it also floats). Additional features include class-leading audio output, boasts 10 hours of operating time, and even includes a simplified navigation function. All of these capacities are packed into a handheld unit that can be packed and stowed and taken with you.
Connecting the Sportfishing World
It would be tempting to pigeonhole Icom as a VHF company. That, however, would bypass the company’s offerings in single side bands, radars, AIS units and many other products that span the boat-to-boat and boat-to-shore communication universe. A complete lineup of products and areas of operation is available on the company’s detailed, meticulous, resource-rich website.
Icom is also a proud sponsor of the MONGO Offshore Challenge.
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