ICOM IC-M424G GPS VHF Radio

Price not available; www.icomamerica.com

DSC is a potentially excellent but underused safety tool and thus it’s good news that Icom has upgraded two of its fixed VHF radio models to include internal GPS sensors so they will be ready to make DSC distress calls almost the moment power and antenna are attached. At the London Boat Show in January, Icom UK introduced the IC-M423G, which features a “striking new white-backlit LCD” also seen on the slightly different M424G model that was just announced for the U.S. market at the Miami Boat Show. There will also be a new M-195G Commandmic IV with a matching white-backlit LCD (and either a black or white casing). Given the advent of the premium M506 AIS/VHF, I was hoping to see more NMEA 2000 radios from Icom because they can integrate nicely with multifunction displays and external GPS. But having an internal GPS like Standard Horizon trailblazed is also a good thing. Then you have DSC distress and other features available even if the rest of your nav system and N2K network are shut down. Note that the new Raymarine Ray70 has it all—N2K, AIS, and internal GPS—which is a first, I think, and one I hope to see in action soon. Then again, the new Icom M324G “value” VHF—which looks just like the European M323G—is apt to go on boats with more modest systems and perhaps no NMEA 2000 at all. So having the internal GPS saves having to do the NMEA 0183 connection that seems so often undone or failed. I haven’t seen prices for these new Icom models yet, but at least here in the U.S. we’ll probably have to wait for the FCC approval.