Beneteau Antares 12 Coupe tested: the capable cruiser for offshore and family fun
We put the Beneteau Antares 12 through its paces on twin 425hp Mercury V10 power, to see how this offshore…
The IC-M506GE is packed full of features,
including a ‘Last Call’ voice-recording function, ‘Active Noise Cancelling’
technology, and Icom’s new intuitive menu-driven user interface and large dot-matrix
display, making it really easy to use. With an integrated AIS receiver, the
IC-M506GE can show real-time AIS vessel traffic information on the display. The
AIS target call function allows you to easily set up a DSC individual call. The
plotter, target list and danger list can be toggled on the display.
With the plug-and-play functionality of NMEA 2000, the IC-M506GE can receive
and transmit GPS (position, course (COG) and speed (SOG)), AIS report and DSC
call information data, and transmit radio frequencies and PGN list data on the
network. Using this function, the IC-M506GE can convert NMEA 0183 GPS data to
NMEA 2000 data for other equipment. The Last Call voice-recording function
automatically saves the last two minutes of the last incoming call. You can
replay the received call and not miss any incoming calls. Using digital signal
processing technology, the built-in bidirectional active noise cancelling
provides superb performance. It reduces background noise to[SB1] up to 90% in the received signal and 30% fixed in the transmitting
signal. The function OFF setting is also possible.
The intuitive software key functions provide easy and fast operation to control the multiple functions of the IC-M506GE. The bottom line of the dot-matrix display shows the software key functions, which can be toggled with the left and right buttons. When connected to an external hailer horn, you can talk to people on the deck or shore from the radio’s microphone and can hear people’s reply via the hailer speaker. The RX hailer function allows you to monitor the received audio from the hailer horn. A 25W amplifier increases your talk power, making your communication loud and clear.
A Foghorn feature is built-in via the external hailer horn. Four horn patterns are selectable for the automatic horn function. A built-in GPS receiver with external antenna provides your location, bearing and speed by using information from GPS and GLONASS.
A rear-microphone version is available, where the microphone connector is drawn from the rear panel, and a 20ft microphone extension cable is supplied to allow you clean and neat panel installation. It is IPX8 waterproof, meaning the IC-M506GE can withstand 1m of water for 60 minutes. An optional second mic is available for second-station connection, with a 60ft connection cable. It is complete with a simple plastic flush-mount kit. Stainless steel flush-mount kits are available as an option. The price is likely to be around £480 from a competitive UK outlet.
Advertisement
Contact
Powerboat & RIB
This content was created by the Powerboat & RIB editorial team.
