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Fake Chips - IC's

Shadders

Shadders

pfm Member
Hi,
Whilst looking at a THD video on youtube, there was a new video listed at the side which was about Fake Chips.

The video is quite long, but it does show you that ordering off of e-bay is more than likely to present to you reworked chips from electronic devices or fake chips.


The comments section of the video is interesting - so if you do not want to watch the entire video, this may help.

I do wonder where people locate discontinued DAC IC's (Philips, Burr Brown etc.) and purchase from e-bay etc., stating that the sound is ok, whether they are receiving a bona fide chip new, recovered from a PCB and it will be deteriorated, or a fake.

Has anyone ever purchased and measured the performance of their IC or equipment ?

Will people believe that since they hear what they want, that the IC is bona fide ?

Regards,
Shadders.
 
My first experience of this was around 85 when I got a quantity of either TDA or STR chips (can’t remember which) that had been relabelled as a then just obsolete part.
The ceased production of the chip rendered thousands of small TVs scrap, many still within warranty. It certainly made a quick buck for someone in the chain!
May have been an STR with the AQ suffix when I think about it!
I think there was also a run of out of spec (or relabelled) caps made by someone back in the day as well that found their way into multiple devices.
 
Buying obsolete ICs on ebay is an interesting gamble. With luck, you get new old stock or parts recovered from old equipment. Just as likely, you end up with a fake, or even some entirely unrelated chip with approximately the right number of pins. It's much better to buy from a company such as Rochester Electronics (no affiliation) that specialises in this trade. If these companies don't have them, perhaps it's time to reconsider.
 
Any LDMOS power output or SK170 jfet from ebay is sure to be fake, usually totally unrelated parts
Remarking LM358 style opamps as something desirable is also rampant.
 
chartz said:
Many fake TDA1541 double crown from China.
Click to expand...
Hi,
I did check ebay for some of the IC's - here is a link for pre-owned TD1541 from China, single crown costing £108.03
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/2111210563

Here is another few links for TDA1541 which have no crown, but one link is from Cricklewood Electronics and the other from the US.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=254201554610
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1623860153

The TDA1541 single crown from China does seem to have a nice new looking print on the IC, but the others from UK and US have more muted printed text. Is the China IC which is pre-owned a fake, since the video linked earlier showed that they can laser print the text ?.

I do wonder how many people have fake IC's used in their DIY builds, and cannot hear any difference.

Regards,
Shadders.
 
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Hi,
There seems to be many fake transistors too - here is a video of someone testing fake mosfets from aliexpress.

Another opens up the transistor case - TO-3 type case - visible difference.

Are people aware of the problem, or do they have hearing that cannot determine the difference as per fake IC's. I think measurements are critical here - especially if you have a DIY project using ebay goods.

Regards,
Shadders.
 
Yes, and you can ask add countless fake 3055 transistors.

And there are fake laser heads too, reproduced perfectly down to the tiniest detail, but they don’t work of course.

Ali Express is a huge part of this fake component industry. EBay too.

I can’t even start to imagine production lines working day and night that manufacture such pointless items. I guess not being Chinese, I can’t understand any of it.
Whole families that depend on it. Knowing that they manufacture c**p all day long.
 
I'm struggling to understand that this is a surprize to anyone? The Chinese will counterfeit anything from tiny components to cars and even entire corporations. Buy your stuff from a reputable supplier or don't whine about the outcome.
 
Shadders said:
I do wonder how many people have fake IC's used in their DIY builds, and cannot hear any difference.
Click to expand...
I wonder why people use those bizarre parts for their builds rather than in-production ones available through official channels.
 
Hi,
It is not a surprise, but seems to be something that in the DIY section, people gladly order goods from ebay (components, kits), which are sourced from china, and they are oblivious to the potential that the IC's or transistors will be fake.

Only people who work with components on a regular basis know of the issue.

Regards,
Shadders.
 
mansr said:
I wonder why people use those bizarre parts for their builds rather than in-production ones available through official channels.
Click to expand...
Hi,
It is because of the cost - multiple times i have seen people reply that since the cost is so low, that they might as well order the component. This ranges from IC's, transistors, to resistors, aswell as full kits. The cost of the kit is sometimes lower than the cost of the postage if the kit was ordered from the UK.

Regards,
Shadders.
 
But why hunt around on ebay when you can go to Farnell, Mouser, or Digikey and order almost anything imaginable with a few clicks?
 
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