Icom IC-M33 is a handheld VHF with a vital difference - if you drop it overboard it floats! It's not too far-fetched to say that this is a potentially lifesaving feature. You might fumble this vital piece of equipment while transferring from yacht to liferaft, for example, and find yourself unable to communicate with the rescue services.
Plenty of handhelds claim to be waterproof, but this is the first one that floats to the surface if accidentally immersed - and demonstration of this capability drew crowds at the recent London Boat Show.
Because the IC-M33 is waterproof to IPX-7 it will keep on working after it has been submerged. The most intriguing part of the demo was the “Aquaquake” draining function: once out of the water, this clever vibration system clears water away from the speaker grill.
And on top of all that it's a neat, well-featured radio, with an easy-to-hold rounded body that fits comfortably in the hand, a large LCD with backlighting, generously sized keypad, also backlit, and all the other features users have come to expect from Icom.
For those who want 'hands free' use - increasingly in demand, from both cruisers and racers - a new waterproof speaker microphone is available - and the handheld will still float when this is attached.
Unfortunately it was preview only at the boat show. Type approval is still pending. But Icom says the radio should be in the shops by the start of the season - with an optional three-year warranty.
“This product is unique,” said Ian Lockyer, marketing manager of Icom (UK) Ltd. “So many users daily run the risk of accidentally losing their radios: commercial operators, training schools PWC operators, single handed yachtsmen. The IC-M33 is the perfect tool to stop this from happening.”
For more information visit www.icomuk.co.uk
