Testing Criteria and Ingress Protection
Tait P25 TP9100 Portables
TAIT: THE RIGHT FIT
www.taitradio.com
Contents
Purpose..………………………………………......…...............................
03
Introduction.............................……………………….............................. 03
Ingress Protection Standards........……………………............................ 04
IP - Ingress Protection Ratings
Military Standards..........……………………............................................ 06
Tait Standards..........……………………................................................. 06
Questions to Consider..........………………...........................................
07
Other Variables………...………………………….................................... 07
Conclusion.……………...…………………………..................................
07
Glossary.……………………………………………..................................
07
Disclaimer
Tait Electronics Limited marketed under the Tait Radio Communications brand.
Tait Electronics Limited expressly disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including but
not limited to implied warranties as to the accuracy of the contents of this document.
In no event shall Tait Electronics Limited be liable for any injury, expenses, profits, loss or
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of or reliance on the information described in this document.
Copyright © 2010 Tait Electronics Limited.
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While Tait has taken every care to ensure that the information and contents are correct and
up-to-date at the time of printing, the information may contain technical inaccuracies and/or
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Tait cannot be held liable or responsible for errors or omissions in the contents of the technical
documentation. All information contained in the technical documentation is given without
warranties or representations, expressed or implied.
Tait Radio Communications © Testing Criteria and Ingress Protection_Tait P25 TP9100 Portables_v1_Pg purpose
The purpose of this document is to specify the testing criteria which the TP9100
radios had to exceed in the course of its development. It is intended for evaluators
of radio solutions so that they can ask informed questions from their shortlisted
manufacturers.
The three main testing methodologies are:
■
Ingress Protection Standards
■
Military Standards
■
Tait Standards
introduction
The Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) manufacturers use Military Standards
(MIL-STD) or IEC Ingress Protection (IP) Standards to ensure a consistent set of
independently-established standards to allow users to compare based on these
ratings.
Like other manufacturers, Tait will test its products to these standards periodically
as part of the design and engineering process. For example, engineering the 9100
series of radios so that it secured the IP54 rating required Tait to design a product that
could be reliably sealed to prevent dust and water ingress. An independent laboratory
tested and certified to the IP54 various criteria.
Achieving such ratings and certification should not be confused with the general
quality assurance checks that Tait undertakes as each radio is in production.
Military standards such as MIL-STD-810 test against many other environmental
criteria. The TP9100 meets MIL-STD-810C, D, E and F. It does NOT mean that the
radios have been tested, used or approved by the armed forces!
Certificates of compliance are often the minimum required, so Tait designs the
radios to exceed many of these standards and invests in its own laboratory facilities
to implement a rigorous testing regime. For example, Tait conducts their own
environmental tests that include exceeding the MIL-STD-810F drop test and then
using the same radio to carry out IP54 dust and rain tests. This also involves selecting
and testing against the harshest parameters from previous MIL-STD-810F criteria, for
example, Tait used the ‘C’ duration criteria for the rain test of 120 minutes (‘F’ is 15
minutes) while exposing it to the greater rainfall requirement of 810 ‘F’.
Of course, the tests are intended to simulate “real life” conditions and care should still
be taken to treat all radios appropriately!
Tait Radio Communications © Testing Criteria and Ingress Protection_Tait P25 TP9100 Portables_v1_Pg Ingress Protection Standards
IP - Ingress Protection Ratings
An Ingress Protection rating is used to specify the environmental protection of
electrical equipment.
Ingress Protection (IP) ratings are developed by the European Committee for Electro
Technical Standardisation (CENELEC) (described IEC/EN 60529) and specify the
environmental protection an enclosure provides.
The IP rating normally has two numbers:
1. Protection from solid objects or materials
2. Protection from liquids
International Standard IEC 60529 outlines an international classification system that
describes the sealing characteristics of electrical equipment. The classification system
defines the level of protection provided by enclosures to prevent the ingress of foreign
objects and moisture into the electrical equipment. The classification system uses the
“IP” code, or “Ingress Protection” code, to define the level of seal.
The IP code uses a system of two numerical digits to define the level of both foreign
object and moisture protection.
IP54 =
IP
5
4
IP Letter Code
1st Digit
2nd Digit
Left: IP numbering system
Right: Testing the TP9100 to IPx4 - water splashed against the component from any direction
The first digit of the IP code indicates the degree of protection against solid foreign
objects from entering the electrical device.
The second digit of the IP code indicates the degree of protection against the ingress
of various forms of moisture (e.g. drip, spray, immersion, etc.) into the component.
Tests to determine the level of protection are carried out with fresh water and do not
take into account the use of solvents.
* source is www.engineeringtoolbox.com
Tait Radio Communications © Testing Criteria and Ingress Protection_Tait P25 TP9100 Portables_v1_Pg The following table explains the meaning of the different digits and shows the relevant
international symbol.
1st
Digit
0
1
Protection from
solid objects
Non protected
Protected against
solid objects
greater than 50mm
2nd
Digit
0
1
Protection from
moisture
Non protected
Protected against
vertically falling
water drops
2
Protected against
solid objects
greater than
12.5mm
2
3
Protected against
solid objects
greater than 2.5mm
3
Protected against
vertically falling
water drops when
enclosure is tilted
up to 15°
Protected against
sprayed water
4
Protected against
solid objects
greater than 1.0mm
4
5
Protected from the
amount of dust that
would interfere with
normal operation
Dust proof
5
6
6
7
8
Protected against
water splashed
against the
component from
any direction
Protected against
water projected
in jets from any
direction
Protected against
water projected in
powerful jets from
any direction
Protected against
temporary
immersion in water
Protected against
continuous
immersion in water,
or as specified by
the user
Please note: IEC 60529 does not specify sealing effectiveness against the following - mechanical damage of the
equipment; the risk of explosions; certain types of moisture conditions, e.g.: those that are produced by condensation;
corrosive vapours; fungus; vermin.
Tait Radio Communications © Testing Criteria and Ingress Protection_Tait P25 TP9100 Portables_v1_Pg Military Standards
Military Standard 810F sets out several different environmental specifications such as
salt fog, high and low temperatures, vibration and humidity.
Method 506.4 (Rain) comprises two procedures:
Procedure I – Rain and Blowing Rain
Simulates product being used in a driven rain environment:
■
4in/hr rainfall rate for a duration of 150 minutes (100L/m2/hr)
■
Wind Velocity > 40mph (18 m/s)
Procedure III – Drip
Procedure III is appropriate when material is normally protected from rain but may be
exposed to falling water from condensation or leakage from upper surfaces:
■
11in/hr rainfall rate for a duration of 120 minutes (280L/m2/hr)
Note that the schedule of criteria within revisions F supersedes revisions C, D and E.
Tait will select the harshest parameters from current and former revisions,
e.g.:Tait used the ‘C’ duration criteria for the dripping rain test of 120 minutes
(‘F’ requires only 15 minutes) while exposing it to the greater rainfall requirement of
810 ‘F’. Another example of testing to the more demanding MIL-STD specification
is low temperature which was specified as -57°C in schedule ‘C’, but was higher
in subsequent revisions. When Tait tested to -57°C, this ensured it also passed/
exceeded the subsequent/less stringent revisions D, E and F.
Tait Standards
In addition to the testing reports issued by an independent external testing laboratory,
Tait maintains its own testing facility. This facility conducts more extensive tests than
the external test facility, often going beyond MIL-STD-810F. One such example is
the MIL-STD-810F shock/transit drop test (516.5 procedure 4) where the standard
requires manufacturers to drop their radio 26 times from 1.2 metres onto wood. Tait’s
internal test criteria exceed the standard test by dropping the Tait radio 26 times from
a height of 1.8 metres on to a concrete floor. After “distressing” a TP9100 radio in
such a way, the same radio was then spray tested for 10 minutes on all surfaces to
ensure it maintained its IP54 rating.
Of course, while Tait specialises in making tough radios, no radio is indestructible.
Care should still be taken to treat any radio appropriately.
Tait Radio Communications © Testing Criteria and Ingress Protection_Tait P25 TP9100 Portables_v1_Pg QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
When evaluating a manufacturer’s testing regime, here are some questions
to consider:
■
Does the manufacturer ‘cherry pick’ the criteria or test against the harshest possible from previous revisions?
■
When conducting the MIL-STD drop test, on to which surface does the manufacturer drop their radio?
■
Does the manufacturer conduct additional tests or procedures that go beyond the standard tests?
■
Does the manufacturer check the IP54 sealing on the same radio that has successfully undergone the drop tests? Or does it only test sealing on a radio that has not previously undergone any other tests?
OTHER VARIABLES
Independent testing criteria can be a useful indicator of a product’s quality of
manufacture and general performance. However, it is only one indicator and many
other factors can affect performance in the field. But many situational factors may
affect the radio’s operation after such an incident including its age, operational use,
the product’s usage history, weather and other environmental conditions.
CONCLUSION
As well as requesting certificates of compliance, evaluators of radio solutions are
encouraged to ask some more probing questions that can help deliver valuable
insights about a particular manufacturer’s testing regime.
GLOSSARY
Term
Explanation
PMR
Professional Mobile Radio
IP
Ingress Protection Standards
MIL-STD
Military Standards
CENELEC
European Committee for Electro Technical Standardisation
IEC
International European Committee
Tait Radio Communications © Testing Criteria and Ingress Protection_Tait P25 TP9100 Portables_v1_Pg