Two-way Radios and IP Rating. What does it Mean to be Rugged?

Having a rugged and reliable radio is important in the operations of many different industries. Whether you are fighting a fire, or working in a chemical plant, you want to know that you have communication in place that you can rely on. You need a radio that can withstand extremely high and extremely low temperatures, or a radio that can withstand dust and salt.

Motorola works to ensure that your radios are reliable and have been put through intense testing standards, to make sure you know what type of radio you are getting. Radios from Motorola are put through tests for humidity, extremely low and high temperatures, vibration, sun exposure and many others.

After many tests are done, radios are given a certain IP Rating based on their performance in the many different tests they are put through. IP stands for Ingress Protection, which basically means how well the radio is going to be protected from water and dust. For some end users, they feel IP rating is one of the most important specs on a radio, due to the nature of their business.

To explain further, lets take for example the Motorola XPR3500e. This radio is rated IP 67. The first number “6” has to do with dust protection, and the “7” has to do with the degree of water protection. To break it down, see the chart to get a better breakdown of what IP rating is.