Waterproof Radios
There a all sorts for claims made for the water resistant qualities of radios, especially the cheaper radios. There are a variety of ways of measuring water resistance, IP ratings, Mil Spec or rather meaningless words like Weatherproof, water resistant etc. None of these take into account how long the water resistance lasts in actual use.
Ignoring manufacturers claims but based on our experience we categorise radios into three types:
Weather proof.
The radio will withstand all the rain the British mountains can throw at them. Virtually every professional quality radio will do this. From good quality PMR446 radios upward. This quality of radio is ideal for all outdoor land based applications.
Submersible.
If you drop them into a puddle up to a metre deep and rescue them within about 30 minutes the radio should be fine. Few radios meet this specification. Some are submersible fresh out of the factory may not still be submersible after a few months use. This quality of radio is ideal for all outdoor on-water based applications but the extra protection of an Aquapac will help the radio float if lost overboard.
Degradation of waterproofing.
Mechanical stresses on the radio body can eventually cause the waterproofing to fail because the joints open slightly. This is much less of a problem for some radio makes / designs than others but for heavy use, industrial and wet applications the radio needs to be chosen carefully.
Non weather proof.
The rain will get inside the radio if you took it out in heavy rain. We dont sell this kind of radio but simple procedures like carrying you radio under your jacket should prevent water damage.
