Watch out for well-made (counterfeit) chips. Counterfeit parts are big headache. Saelae tells that they noticed first that many more boards than normal were failing the functional test. The USB chip was running hot. It turned out that every last part was an old revision corresponding to a different (obsolete) part number – the parts had been relabeled with a modern part number.
Counterfeit Electronic Parts presentation from NASA gives examples of counterfeit ICs and information on business around counterfeit electronics.
Counterfeit components can be a a big business and safety risk. Criminal Prosecution – Who can be held liable for the sale of counterfeit parts? is an inside look at the unscrupulous business practices that plague the open market and the liability that could accompany this unethical conduct. This article is intended to serve as a warning to sales, purchasing and management representatives involved in the purchase or sale of integrated circuits in the open market. Ignorance is not a defense. It will likely be difficult, if not impossible, for any representative of the open market to argue that they were “unaware” of the risks.
340 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Power Extension Load Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf8ygFJtOCg
Today I made an (over)load test of the dodgy power extension from the last video. Most power strips may cause a fire when overloaded, but some are risky even when loaded within their rating.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dangerous Multimeters (+ Explosion, Smoke & Fire)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjtoIRclid8
Sharing my explosive experiences with dangerous multimeters and recreating the explosion of the probe that originally exploded inside my hand. Some multimeters can’t handle mains voltage on some ranges, despite the manual claims they should. They often claim maximal voltage to be 500 to 1000V, despite the fuse is rated only 250V. The cables have very thin copper core, despite being rated 10 or even 20A. In use, they get very hot. As the cables of the multimeter are frequently used and are exposed to bending, the copper core slowly breaks, until just few hairs remain.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Authorities Crack Down on Alleged Counterfeit Laundry Detergent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-7QJkvZ7nw
Recent raids by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department turned up more than 400 buckets of seemingly phony detergents in the L.A. area.
Counterfeit MAC makeup prevalent in Bay area
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNch9frewAw
U.S. Homeland Security agents are seeing counterfeit versions of just about everything penetrating our borders.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Counterfeit phone chargers causing dangerous fire hazard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AWVCGM1d1M
Apple says some fake chargers have major design flaws that can cause overheating and fires.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tiny $2 Multimeter with 1000V Range! Test with Smoke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK02JakVVPY
Testing a tiny Chinese $2.20 analog multimeter with 1000V AC / DC range. This little thing has very small probes, thin cables and loose plugs. There are tiny SMD resistors in it, about 0.6mm spacing between PCB tracks and no fuse! And this has to handle 1000V AC / DC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
INDUSTRY Copycats pose a serious security threat to the IoT
https://iot.eetimes.com/copycats-pose-a-serious-security-threat-to-the-iot/
Companies are bracing for the EU GDPR, which will be enforceable starting May 25. The big issue is the billions of IoT devices collecting data. While most OEMs are updating their devices and systems to comply, they will also be liable for copycat devices and components that access their systems and collect data.
Not only do counterfeit devices and components represent a significant revenue drain for the rightful owners of technology products, they also represent a significant risk to OEMs and to end users of the technology.
Apart from the obvious financial losses for designers and manufacturers, the security risk of poorly manufactured devices is enormous. Those components can cause malfunction and service disruptions as well as be used to tap into corporate and government networks, collecting confidential data or allowing hackers to take control of critical infrastructure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
10 X-Ray Techniques That Identify Counterfeit Parts
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333360
Lead times on components off all types, from passives to semiconductors, are stretching out with no end in sight. The natural consequence, as OEMs scramble to get the parts they need, they are increasingly likely to turn to less reliable sources, making a good opportunity for counterfeiters.
“Shortages go in cycles. For years, it was tantalum capacitors, but not its many types of passives, including multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), as well as certain semiconductors,” said Robin Gray, chief counsel of the Electronic Component Industry Association (ECIA). “A key takeaway is that when times are good, lead times are always pushed out. When that happens, it’s more of an opportunity for counterfeit to step in and [counterfeit a] product.”
The problem of fake parts is massive. “Current estimates for the annual loss to the electronics industry due to counterfeit components is north of $5 billion,” said Bill Cardoso, CEO at Creative Electron in an article on EETimes sister publication EBN. “With rewards that high, it’s no surprise that criminal enterprises are getting more and more sophisticated in their efforts to cash in on counterfeit parts.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dangerous Chinese Power Extension (+ wire maths & circuit breakers explained)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kEd1bVSyME
So I managed to make a 22 minute video about a piece of wire :). Actually, I made a thorough analysis of a cheap and dangerous power extension from China for LED strings or anything else.
And of course, the video contains some stupid and dangerous experiments with a short circuit and lots of smoke :).
That’s one crappy bit of wire.
Hey DiodeGoneWild, this proves that it is always necessary to buy local electrical equipment because it can cause big problems if an electrical installation is made anyhow and with poor quality material, hence the fact that Better to go up in price but be sure to have good quality material.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Megan Dollar / Reuters:
EU signs agreement with Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, and Rakuten for the removal of “dangerous” product listings within two working days’ notice from authorities
EU in agreement with Amazon, eBay to tackle dangerous product listings
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-retail-safety/eu-in-agreement-with-amazon-ebay-to-tackle-dangerous-product-listings-idUSKBN1JL1QF
The European Commission has signed an agreement with four major online retailers to combat the listing of dangerous products on Europe’s online shopping sites.
Dangerous content, as defined by the Commission, includes anything from incitement to hatred and violence to child sexual abuse material, unsafe products and products infringing copyright.
AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Rakuten-France agreed to remove dangerous product listings within two days of being notified by authorities and respond to customer notifications within five days.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ECIA Warns Industry to Look Out for Counterfeit Parts
http://www.powerelectronics.com/power-management/ecia-warns-industry-look-out-counterfeit-parts
The Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) has issued a warning from its Chief Counsel, Robin Gray, on the increasing threat of counterfeit parts getting into the supply chain during component shortages. ECIA encourages the electronics industry to continue to rely on the authorized channel for components, and to report any counterfeit component activity to the Department of Justice.
Tomi Engdahl says:
4 Reasons Embedded Developers Should Avoid Cloned Hardware
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/beningo/articles/4-reasons-embedded-developers-should-avoid-cloned-hardware
an interesting 8-Channel, 24MHz Logic Analyzer that cost less than $10 with shipping
As interesting as this tool may be, there are four reasons why developers should avoid purchasing cloned hardware.
Reason #1 – Code of Ethics
The problem, as I discussed with my colleagues, was that the logic analyzer we were looking at involved cloned hardware that sold at a much lower cost than the original, but that then required the OEM’s software to run that cloned device.
Reason #2 – Security
One might not consider security to be a factor in purchasing cloned hardware, but hardware or software that is coming from an unknown source cannot be trusted. Developers really don’t know what it is that they are getting when they purchase a knock-off.
Reason #3 – You get what you pay for
While a clone may provide similar functionality to a more expensive device, the odds are that whoever cloned the device will not be able to achieve the same level of quality of the original.
There could be noticeable differences such as sample rates and transfer bandwidths, along with many other disparities that may not be apparent at first glance, but that rear their heads once a developer digs deeper.
Reason #4 – Encouraging intellectual property theft
Purchasing low-cost clones encourages intellectual property theft and copycats. Just like with any business, if there is a demand and the opportunity to make a buck, then someone will do it.
Conclusions
Cloned hardware can at first appear to be a steal. They can often be found for 1/50th the price of the original hardware. However, there are moral and other considerations that should be taken into account, such as security concerns that many developers or hobbyists may not initially consider. Saving a few dollars can be tempting, but when it comes to cloned hardware, the safest bet is to go with an OEM.
Tomi Engdahl says:
VERY dubious knock-off Riddex rodent repeller. (with schematic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us8Avnk6KKA
Uh-huh? I’ve never opened a real Riddex rodent repeller unit, but I find it highly doubtful that sending “digital pulses” through your mains wiring is likely to have any effect on creepie crawlies or four legged fluffy rodents at all. But nonetheless, let’s take a look inside this suspiciously cheap unit from China to see if it’s circuitry hints at any “digital pulsing” action.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ILLEGAL Knockoff Chinese Markets! (iPhones, Cameras, MORE!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnoq-Rgb89I
ILLEGAL Replica Chinese Market! (Fake Yeezy’s, iPhone’s, Supreme!!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrqeJvdLQF8
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Look At A Dangerous Chinese Mains Power Cable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-bltQAkEc
10A at 120V? Yeah right…
Tomi Engdahl says:
Destroying A Dangerous Chinese Mains Power Cable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auo5knqHMH8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kevin McCoy / USA Today:
How counterfeit Apple products, such as adapters and chargers, take circuitous shipment routes via multiple companies to reach the US consumer market
How potentially dangerous fake Apple products reach the US consumer market
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/09/20/how-potentially-dangerous-fake-apple-products-reach-you/695596002/
The knockoff power adapters and chargers, which Apple says could cause electrical shocks, allegedly traveled from a manufacturer in Hong Kong to Amazon.com, with stopping points at the Brooklyn location and New Jersey electronics companies.
U.S. investigators said they have seized multiple imports of suspected counterfeits that had been routed to the Brooklyn location.
From outward appearances, the Apple-like products seemed genuine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Destroying A Dangerous Chinese Mains Power Cable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auo5knqHMH8
Overload test
The powder you noticed around the internal insulators is talc and is used during manufacture to stop the outer insulator from adhering to them. It’s pretty standard in many multi cored cables. It also aids removal of the outer insulator during assembly by reducing friction against the inner cores. During use it may also reduce friction between the insulators so making the cable easier to bend.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audit Checklist Targets Fake Chips
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333783
An audit checklist designed to prevent counterfeit components from entering the aerospace industry’s supply chain was released in early September, with Mouser Electronics heading the list of authorized distributors approved under the mitigation framework.
Meanwhile, a range of anti-counterfeiting technologies are emerging as fake chips continue to flood key industrial markets.
The Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) said the checklist, designated AC7403, provides a framework for auditing and certifying electronics distributors through the Performance Review Institute (PRI).
“The audit checklist verifies that there is a system in place which should prevent counterfeit parts from getting into the supply chain,” said Don Elario, ECIA’s vice president for industry practices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to detect shitty and dangerous aluminium flex.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7aa-cJ1ki0
A lot of products bought from China directly are being supplied with token gesture mains cables to merely tick the box of supplying one at the lowest cost possible.
Besides the horrific defects in the plug on theis “UK” lead it also has the flimsy copper coated aluminium (CCA) cable that is higher resistance and poorer connection stability than copper.
Here’s how to test a suspect flex, although an easier option is just to buy a selection of proper copper flexes with various connectors (IEC, cloverleaf and figure-eight) from a respectable local supplier so that you know you are getting cables that hopefully meet your country’s regulations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dangerous Chinese Power Extension (+ wire maths & circuit breakers explained)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kEd1bVSyME
So I managed to make a 22 minute video about a piece of wire :). Actually, I made a thorough analysis of a cheap and dangerous power extension from China for LED strings or anything else. I explain some calculations of a voltage drop on its resistance and the power dissipation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Testing more 18650 Li-ion cells (REAL vs. FAKE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4RfYufeFhc
Today I tested even more of 3.7V 18650 Li-ion batteries from Ebay and explained how to tell the real ones from the fake ones. 18650 Li-ion cells that weigh under 40g tend to have a low capacity. The cells marked over 3500mAh are surely fake and actually are about 500mAh only. Cells with spelling errors also tend to be fake. Button top batteries are way more likely to be fake than the flat top ones.
Suspiciously cheap cells are usually fake or recycled from e-waste (rewrapped cells salvaged from old laptops or other devices). Marks from previous spot welds may be covered using metal circles.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Test of cheap Li-Ion 18650 cells – beware of fakes
http://danyk.cz/test18650_en.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to test if 18650 cells are FAKES (definitively)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2o3Wc-0fVk
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chinese Li-Ion Charger – Fake Terminals Going Nowhere !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbCc4hjt1Og
This is a really amazing piece. Just like any other Chinese battery charger, it has a very poor mains isolation, EU plug that doesn’t fit EU socket, slight overvoltage, no fuse or EMI filter, …. But on the top of it, it has two pairs of 9V terminals that go nowhere!!! I
Tomi Engdahl says:
Testing A *FAKE* 2TB USB Flash Memory Stick (SCAM from Wish.com)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG-Joa3e5Tk
I was browsing a popular online gadget and gift store and I happened across a USB memory stick that claimed to have a capacity of 2 Terabytes, at a price of only £11
Sounds too good to be true, right? So let’s check it out
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake 64GB USB Flash Drive Teardown & Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qG7I0PkDGY
I bought this flash drive on eBay. It was sold to me as a 64GB. I knew it was fake when I bought it but I didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Water Electrolyzer (Quality Tester). The Most Dangerous Appliance Ever?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJBwlsu9asg
This is a Chinese water electrolyzer – a device to analyze the drinking water and test its quality. It uses electrolysis to indicate some dangerous chemicals and substances in the drinkable water. Water changes color according to its contamination. The process “reveals” the dirt in the water. In reality, the dirt comes from the electrodes dissolving, not from the water. No water except distilled water can pass this test.
bare metal electrodes are connected directly to 220V mains just via a bridge rectifier. A deadly electric shock is almost guaranteed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wago and fake Wago connectors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK_plZ7s2lE
Beware the Wago lookalikes! For more information on installing junctions in inaccessible locations
Comments:
Connections must always be done in junction boxes and boxes must always be accessible.
One should avoid alibaba and china made stuff in general. I have seen too many shit stuff.. The plastic is shit, they are using recycled material. They may not be using real copper for connection. They could do anything to make a buck.. Most of them are just too poor to realize the environment is more important than money.
Don’t forget also to mension WISH, Banggood, lightinthebox and ebay
I’ve learned the hard way with cheap fago and i was able to break 4 levers of the 6 on one of the units without many strenght. yeah good plastic indeed
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake solar LED keyring from ebay seller heavends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=546bIjc4pes
I had high hopes for this, since it’s a very common product. It’s basically a keyring with LEDs and a button for use as a flashlight, but also with a solar panel to recharge the internal cell. However, in this case it’s a fake. It’s got a real solar panel, but it’s not charging the two internal CR2016 lithium cells, which is probably a good thing really, since they are not rechargeable. What’s odd is that it does actually have a reasonable solar cell that puts out about 7V at a few milliamps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cheap Ebay 18650 Li-ion batteries (test and autopsy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i96f9St_EH0
Today I tested another 2 dirt cheap 18650 size Li-ion cells from Ebay
This test includes capacity measurement using my DIY battery analyzer and, of course, an autopsy. Can those super cheap batteries be real, or just another fakes?
Comments:
The problem with unknown “recycled” cell is that you don’t know what happened before. Often they were overdischarged, meaning they’ve build copper shunt inside the cell leading to internal short circuit and explosion. I discovered this, the hard way. Some of them also don’t hold full charge for long and they definitely have much less capacity than before.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Handheld Scanner Can Detect Counterfeit Textiles
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/thbreunig/articles/hand-held-scanner-can-detect-counterfeit-textiles
The potential applications for portable, handheld materials scanning, analysis, and identification technology are boundless
To provide some perspective, the Global Brand Counterfeiting Report 2018 estimates that losses due to counterfeiting of high-end consumer goods, including rugs and carpets, amounted to $98 billion.
The industry needs a simple tool for rapid testing of textile articles to protect consumers from low-quality products of shorter lifetimes, dyes that run, and off-gassing materials such as glues. Any such tool must be portable and affordable and should allow users to analyze their target textiles without destroying the products. Miniaturization of near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers has advanced to the point at which handheld instruments could provide reliable and affordable means to serve this purpose.
An example deployment
Outside a U.S. customs warehouse at the Port of Los Angeles, U.S. Customs officers are spot-inspecting a just-opened container of rolled-up Far Eastern rugs that has come in. The paperwork is in order and the bill of lading says that they are made of silk.
The customs officers know, however, that mercerization of simple wool fibers can lend a final rug product a gloss that, to the naked eye, may look very similar to silk. This similarity is often exploited by unscrupulous carpet manufacturers seeking to sell counterfeit material to less knowledgeable customers for a steep price.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake Chinese SD Card Scam!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-D6tYBX8vE
Linus brand is the only scam brand that is up-front about just how much of a scam it is – with an advertised capacity of 1TB, and a real capacity of 32GB, this fully functional USB drive is the perfect gift to yourself if you really really want a fun little collectible piece of Linus Tech Tips history.
Comments:
The problem is that a lot of buyers just see the “Available Storage” on Windows and copy a couple of GB files. They don’t actually try to copy the full 1 TB files.
alot of the problem is youtubers supporting fake productmanufacturers by buying their products…. so many more will now be made. thanks.
Other buyers aren’t even necessarily a factor here, s those reviews are all clearly fake. They just setup new accounts, let them all age a bit adding fake transactions and reviews over that time period, and then rip off as many people possible before eBay shuts them down. Just like most 3rd party sellers on amazon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Good Are Counterfeit Parts? Believe It Or Not, Maybe A Refund
https://hackaday.com/2018/11/10/what-good-are-counterfeit-parts-believe-it-or-not-maybe-a-refund/
[Charles Ouweland] purchased some parts off Aliexpress and noticed that the Texas Instruments logo on some of his parts wasn’t the Texas Instruments logo at all, it was just some kind of abstract shape that vaguely resembled the logo. Suspicious and a little curious, he decided to take a closer look at the MCP1702 3.3v LDO regulators he ordered as well. Testing revealed that they were counterfeits with poor performance.
Looking at the packages, there were some superficial differences in the markings of the counterfeit MCP1702 versus genuine parts from Microchip, but nothing obviously out of place.
Is this cheap Chinese LDO genuine or fake?
https://charlesouweland.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/is-this-cheap-chinese-ldo-genuine-or-fake/
I bought 10 Low-drop-out 3.3V voltage regulators for €2.34 and 10 SN74HC595’s on Ali and was wondering if they are any good. My suspicion begun when I took a close look at the 595’s. There is a company logo on them, that looks like the Texas Instruments logo from a distance. But if you look a little closer, it’s not the TI logo at all, it’s more like a sinking ship.
I moved on to the MCP1702-3302. At first, they look identical to the ones produced by Microchip, as you can see for yourself:
Noticeable differences are:
the plastic of the Chinese is more shiny black
ellipse around e3 in stead of a circle
This is the Pb-free JEDEC designator. According to JEDEC standard 609B, this indicates that a lead-free tin surface finished is used. Both a circle and an ellipse (or parentheses, or underline) are allowed. So it’s not wrong, it’s different.
the font is different: look at the shape of the 3, which is flat on the top
None of these differences are absolute proof that the component is or is not a genuine Microchip component. So, I decided to put them to the test.
Conclusion
The Chinese MCP1702-3302 is not within the Microchip specifications. It is nowhere near. Its drop-out voltage is 1200mV in stead of typical 525mV or even within the maximum 725mV.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cheap Multimeter Leads Come With Extra Ohms, Free!
https://hackaday.com/2018/12/16/cheap-multimeter-leads-come-with-extra-ohms-free/
[Nop head] discovered that cheap multimeter leads costing only a few bucks can come with more than one may have bargained for. The first set had a large amount of useful-looking attachments, but the wires used for the leads were steel with a resistance of about one ohm each.
Are all cheap multimeter leads similarly useless? Not necessarily.
a much better design and had a resistance of only 64 milliohms. Not great, but certainly serviceable
Beware fake multi-meter leads
http://hydraraptor.blogspot.com/2018/06/beware-fake-multi-meter-leads.html
I bought these multi-meter leads on eBay for £2.99. They are advertised as “16PCS/Set Multimeter Probe Pin Test Leads Cable Multifunction Digital Clip Kit”. I was attracted to them by the large number of accessories including pin type plugs that fit old analogue multi-meters.
When they arrived I discovered that the wires are steel and have a resistance of about 1 Ohm each, which makes them about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Any resistance measurement gets 2 Ohms added . Current measurements on the amps range drop large voltages, the wires get hot and would burn if left on for more that a few seconds.
Voltage measurements would be accurate enough but where the attachments screw on there is exposed metal, so not suitable for high voltages.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hakko FX-888D – Real vs. Counterfeit – how to spot a fake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvOJL8aAUO8
A quick physical comparison between a genuine Hakko FX-888D (purchased from Element 14) and an exceptionally close knockoff from eBay.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake Nokia charger destruct-a-teardown II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL7TVy3Hnnc
Pop goes the Chinese fake.
This “Nokia” charger is not as dangerous as the last one
, but its discrete oscillator design, lack of any RF suppression, and barely regulated 6-volt output doesn’t make for a very impressive device.
It also caught fire.
Lethal fake Nokia charger takes the plunge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFb0vz5br70
I don’t think you’re supposed to have a spark gap between primary and secondary. Oh well, blub blub blub.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2018/05/11/fake-omron-relays-are-worth-what-you-pay-for-them/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Vacuum Tube and Barbecue Lighter X-Ray Generator
https://hackaday.com/2018/05/12/a-vacuum-tube-and-barbecue-lighter-x-ray-generator/
https://hackaday.io/project/158221-xray-emitter-device-made-from-a-barbecue-lighter
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flash Memory: Caveat Emptor
https://hackaday.com/2018/05/13/flash-memory-caveat-emptor/
We all love new tech. Some of us love getting the bleeding edge, barely-on-the-market devices and some enjoy getting tech thirty years after the fact to revel in nostalgia. The similarity is that we assume we know what we’re buying and only the latter category expects used parts. But, what if the prior category is getting used parts in a new case? The University of Alabama in Huntsville has a tool for protecting us from unscrupulous manufacturers installing old flash memory.
Flash memory usually lasts longer than the devices where it is installed, so there is a market for used chips which are still “good enough” to pass for new. Of course, this is highly unethical.
Flash Memory Endurance Testing
https://hackaday.com/2014/12/04/flash-memory-endurance-testing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Anatomy Of A Cloned Piece Of Hardware
https://hackaday.com/2019/01/21/anatomy-of-a-cloned-piece-of-hardware/
What would you think if you saw a bootleg of a product you design, manufacture, and sell pop up on eBay? For those of us who don’t make our livelihood this way, we might secretly hope our blinkenlight project ends up being so awesome that clones on AliExpress or TaoBao end up selling in the thousands . But of course anyone selling electronics as their business is going to be upset and wonder how this happened?
Dave Curran from Tynemouth Software had one of his products cloned, and since he has been good enough to share all the details with us we’ve been able to take a look at the evidence. Dave’s detective work is top notch. What he found was surprising, his overseas manufacturer was blameless, and the bootleg board came from an entirely different source.
The product in question is the Minstrel ZX80, a recreation of the Sinclair ZX80 home computer on a PCB in the same form factor as the later ZX81. It’s a project we covered back in 2017 upon its launch, and it seems that Dave has been quietly selling kits ever since.
The path to the bootlegger
In April last year a customer who had bought a Tynemouth Minstrel ZX80 posted about it (Google Translate) on the Russian-language ZX-PK Sinclair enthusiasts forum. They put up a link to a high-resolution scan they had made of the board, and it was this scan that was used by another forum member who decided to make their own version (Google Translate). The translation isn’t exactly on-point, but it seems that he did indeed create it by hand in his CAD package before producing his first batch of boards.
What is clear from this tale is that the copy had nothing to do with any of [Dave]’s supply chain, so the popular theory that Gerbers sent abroad are sure to be bootlegged does not hold water in this case. We’re not saying it doesn’t happen, merely that it didn’t happen here. That an enthusiast with an eye to a quick buck would go so far as to directly clone the Minstrel from scratch is something of a surprise, as the task would require significant talent and expertise to achieve.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake Fuses and Flex
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InpT_QMXaZ8
20 amp BS1362 fuses that should not exist, and an example of some grossly undersized fake 0.75mm² 2 core flex.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake 15A BS1362 Fuses Tested
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBWmo-Y8c0E
The fake 15A BS1362 fuses are subjected to various overloads.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/tekniset-artikkelit/9010-vaarennetty-komponentti-kay-kalliiksi
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Good Are Counterfeit Parts? Believe It Or Not, Maybe A Refund
https://hackaday.com/2018/11/10/what-good-are-counterfeit-parts-believe-it-or-not-maybe-a-refund/
Tomi Engdahl says:
EEVblog #1200 – BUSTED! – Energizer & Duracell NiMH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q1MPrgea1M
Are you getting ripped off with Energizer and Duracell D cell NiMH rechargeable batteries?
Why is a D cell NiMh the same capacity or lower than the smaller C or even AA cell?
Teardown time!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake Omron relays with smoky issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8EH2GqzWNU
I bought a few of these very common Omron clone relays from various sellers on eBay to check out. The 12V units seem OK, but the 240V ones have a very silly issue that is so common with this type of cloned product. Grossly overloaded components. And in this case a completely unnecessary one.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Widespread SD Card Scam: Fake Capacities & Moonlighting Factories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBhNLSk0w6w
This is another video in our series of looks at scam electronics, but it’s more widespread. Fake SD cards have found their way to legitimate retailers by being well-disguised.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Julkaistu 25.2.2017
Just a PSA: Don’t buy “2TB” flash drives for $10. They’re scams. Honestly, the fact that this was even ~10-12GB was impressive.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kix3JKn08OU
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/02/fake-graphics-cards-and-how-to-fix-them/
Tomi Engdahl says:
In news that should shock literally nobody, Chris Petrich reports that there’s a pretty good chance the DS18B20 temperature sensor chips you have in your parts bin are counterfeits. Almost all of the 500 sensors he purchased from two dozen vendors on eBay tested as fakes. His Github readme has an extensive list that lumps the counterfeits into four categories of fake-ness, with issues ranging from inaccurate temperature offsets to sensors without EEPROM that don’t work with parasitic power.
How to tell original from fake DS18B20 temperature sensors.
https://github.com/cpetrich/counterfeit_DS18B20
Your DS18B20 temperature sensor is likely a fake, counterfeit, clone…
…unless you bought the chips directly from Maxim Integrated (or Dallas Semiconductor in the old days) or an authorized distributor (DigiKey, RS, Farnell, Mouser, Conrad, etc.), or you took exceptionally good care purchasing waterproofed DS18B20 probes. We bought over 500 “waterproof” probes from two dozen sellers on ebay. All of them contained counterfeit DS18B20 sensors. Also, almost all sensors we bought on ebay were counterfeit.
Besides ethical concerns, some of the counterfeit sensors actually do not contain an EEPROM, do not work in parasitic power mode, have a high noise level or temperature offset outside the advertised ±0.5 °C band, have bugs and unspecified failure rates, or differ in another unknown manner from the specifications in the Maxim datasheet. Clearly, the problems are not big enough to discourage people from buying probes on ebay, but it may be good to know the actual specs when the data are important or measurement conditions are difficult.
IMHO, they are not clones, they are counterfeits (fakes). They are not clones because, as of writing (2019), all counterfeits behave differently electrically from the authentic Maxim products and can be distinguished easily from the originals.
How do I know if I am affected?
If the DS18B20 have been bought from authorized dealers though a controlled supply chain then the chips are legit.
Otherwise, (I) one can test for compliance with the datasheet. If a sensor fails any of those tests, it is a fake (unless Maxim’s implementation is buggy [4]). (II) one can compare sensor behavior with the behavior of Maxim-produced DS18B20.
Regarding (II), there are simple tests for differences with Maxim-produced DS18B20 sensors (C4 die) that apparently all counterfeit sensors fail [5]. The most straight-forward software tests are probably these:
It is a fake if its ROM address does not follow the pattern 28-xx-xx-xx-xx-00-00-xx [5]. (Maxim’s ROM is essentially a mostly chronological serial number (mostly, but not strictly when compared with the date code on the case) [5].)
It is a fake if == 0 or > 0×10 in the scratchpad register, or if the following scratchpad register relationship applies after any successful temperature conversion: ( + ) & 0x0f != 0 (12-bit mode) [3,5].
It is a fake if the chip returns data to simple queries of undocumented function codes other than 0×68 and 0×93 [4,5]. (As of writing (2019), this can actually be simplified to: it is a fake if the return value to sending code 0×68 is 0xff [5].)
Alternatively,
It is a fake if the date–batch combination printed on the case of the sensor is not in the Maxim database (need to ask Maxim tech support to find out).
Note that none of the points above give certainty that a particular DS18B20 is an authentic Maxim product, but if any of the tests above indicate “fake” then it is most defintely counterfeit [5]. Based on my experience, a sensor that will fail any of the three software tests will fail all of them.