IP rating explained.

All devices that are intended for industrial use, will have undergone IP testing. In this case, IP originates from the French term Indice de Protection and is defined in EN 60529. This rating classifies and rates the degree of protection, provided by the devices casing, against dust and water.

All Motorola equipment has undergone EN 60529 testing and will have a IP rating listed on the specification sheet. A radio that has a higher IP rating will be more resistant to dust and water and therefore would be better suited for ship communications; water police; mining; construction and so forth.

The IP rating consists of two digits and is denoted as IPXY. X is measurement of solid particle protection (e.g. dust) and Y is the measurement of liquid protection. The equipment must be able to operate normally whilst being subjected to the below for no more than 30 minutes.

As an example, the (now discontinued) GP340 had an IP rating of IP54. This meant that the radio was protected against dust and splashed water. Since the MTR3000 was installed in a cabinet, on a high site, it only needed to have IP20 - so protection against fingers but no protection against water.

Nearly all the current MOTOTRBO portables are IP68 whereas the mobiles are IP54.

There are other variations of the above but EN 60529 seems to be the most widely used.