TAIT TOUGH – What are IP ratings?

Tait radios are built tough to survive the punishment our customers throw at them. Our portables carry both IP65 and IP68 ratings, but what are these IP ratings and how do they help critical comms users?

Tait customers need to stay safe and connected, whatever conditions they find themselves working in. Be it extreme heat, cold, sun, rain, landslides, falls from height – you name it, critical industries need to be prepared for the worst, and so do their communication tools.

Tait Tough radios are tested and certified to survive a lot of punishment. Among those certifications are two IP ratings: IP65, which certifies a product is dust-tight and can withstand water jets, and IP68, which certifies continuous immersion in water.

What are IP ratings?

Water, dust, and other debris cause electronic equipment to deteriorate or malfunction. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has developed ingress protection ratings (IP). This is a grade on a device’s resistance enclosure against debris and liquids. The first digit describes protection from solid foreign objects, these grades range from 0-6 with 0 being no protection in each category. The second digit describes protection from water, and ranges from 0-9.

ingress protection table

Ingress Protection table courtesy of IEC: https://www.iec.ch/ip-ratings

IP65: Protection Against Powerful Water Jets

A grade of ‘IP65’ means that the device is dust tight, denoted by ‘6’ and protected against water jets, denoted by ‘5’. Tait’s entire Tait Tough range of portable radios are tested to military standards with various resistances to water and foreign objects.

IP68: Protection Against Immersion in Water

A grade of ‘IP68’ means that the device is dust tight, and protected against the effects of continuous immersion in water, denoted by ‘8’.

Surviving Tough Work Environments

These certifications let workers like Firefighters do their jobs with confidence that their communications equipment is built to survive the hazards they encounter, like exposure to high pressure water hoses.

Read about how the County of Los Angeles’ Fire Department takes advantage of TAIT TOUGH devices…

Tait Tough Multiband Radio

The Tait TP9800 Multiband radio is Tait’s latest development in P25 technology. Experience the rugged, lightweight design of the TP9800 featuring high capacity battery and compact design. Helping your critical agents roam between network coverage areas without the need for bulky devices. The Tait TP9800 Multiband is built Tait Tough to survive the harshest conditions.

Tait Tough Accessories

There are many portable radio accessories which are Tait Tough. The most notable being the TSM4, a shoulder mounted remote speaker microphone designed to meet the needs of Public Safety and a wide range of professional users. For a rugged accessory it has high capacity audio performance alongside being IP68 and IP65 classified. Browse the full range in the Tait Portable Radio Accessories catalog

TAIT AXIOM Wearable

Connect your teams via LTE networks, with the same tough build quality as Tait portables. TAIT AXIOM Wearables feature a rugged design to meet harsh working environments head
on, with glove-grip controls, water-shedding grill, IP68, IP65 and MIL-STD-810H ratings – all in a compact design that doesn’t weigh you down.

Selecting the Right Radios for Your Team

Looking for where to start with portable radios and accessories for your comms teams? Try our radio selection guide, with further information on Tait Tough products.


Learn more about the toughest radios in the industry.

View more stories like this one, subscribe to the Tait Newsletter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *