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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Fake components
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lew247 Guru  Joined: 23/12/2015 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1702 |
This isn't just microcontroller or pc related directly but it could affect any of us Please read this article about counterfeit components, it's pretty enlightening. I had no idea there were fake chips out there The article is on http://www.allaboutcircuits.com and you can read the Article Here Counterfeit parts are becoming more of a problem every day and it won't be long before serious harm is caused as a result. It is up to us design engineers to prevent such incidents by arming ourselves with the knowledge to spot counterfeit parts. Counterfeits - My Story Counterfeit parts are becoming increasingly common and should be taken seriously when designing circuits for both personal and commercial applications. Not only should you carefully source your parts, but you must also be able to identify counterfeits. Before we look at how to identify such components let us look into why counterfeits are problematic. I was struck by counterfeits a few months ago when I was designing an electronic toggle system for a Z80 computer. The system involved tactile switches connected to the clock input of 4013 flip flops which were configured in toggle mode (D is connected to /Q). The initial tests worked with no errors, so an order was placed to get 16 of these chips. Once the chips had arrived the circuit was built and connected. But pressing the buttons would only work on some of the toggles intermittently with most of the buttons not working at all. Each of the 32 circuits was identical and there was no reason for the system to fail in any way. Eventually, I constructed a rig on a breadboard to test the individual chips. The circuit consisted of the toggle arrangement for the chip under test, a tactile switch for toggling, and a single LED output indicator. The tests showed that the chips would not toggle and thus assumed that the chips had been damaged by static electricity. More chips were ordered from the same supplier and the same problem persisted. More chips were sourced from another seller and again the problem was still around. By now I should mention that these chips were purchased on Ebay, but understand that they were listed as genuine and new. Eventually, I had sourced some 4013 chips from a reputable supplier and the toggle system was working perfectly. After some investigation, it was evident that I had counterfeit parts! The Problem Luckily for me, this was a personal project and the chips were very cheap, but what would happen if this was a medical device keeping someone alive? What about a fire alarm system? Missile defense anyone? Counterfeit parts are dangerous not because they don’t work outright, but because they nearly work. The problem may not be evident until it has been built and operated for some time. Counterfeit parts are also unreliable and can fail at any point (hence, why they may work during testing where conditions are ideal such as temperature and mechanical forces). The best way to defend yourself from such parts is to source your components from reputable suppliers. Large companies cannot risk their reputation being tarnished by counterfeits and will go to great lengths to ensure that their parts are the genuine article. Failing this, the second line of defense is to have some form of quality control whereby all parts purchased go under scrutiny. Each component type (resistor, capacitor etc) will have their own related techniques but here we will consider ICs as they are in many ways more important. Defend Yourself! - Know Thy Enemy Integrated circuits are frequently counterfeited in just about every conceivable way. Such methods include and definitely not limited to: Low spec parts have their part numbers removed and replaced with higher spec parts Rejects from factories are re-purposed Old parts are recycled and resold as new Low spec dies are placed into high spec packages Cheap copies of the part manufactured in a 2nd world country (like fake phones) The good news is that those who make counterfeit ICs are not very good at it! Here is what you can look for when investigating a part: Incorrect part numbers Incorrect date Manufacturer origin Pre-soldered pins Package is made with the wrong material Laser cut lines in the markings Wrong / incomplete logos IC markings are in ink and can be wiped away with acetone Part numbers are one of the biggest giveaways for counterfeits because the people who print them have no idea what they are printing. Sometimes they make up random digits which if checked against the legitimate manufacturer will show they are fake and sometimes put date codes that are in the future! Because the counterfeiters have to reproduce the IC markings they always get the logo wrong. Before the markings can be included they need to remove the old information which involves removing the surface of the IC package. Then a new ident can be laser cut in, but two factors come into play; the tolerance of the laser will be significantly lower than the official IC fab house capabilities, thus, resulting in a poor replication of the text and the design has to be customized from scratch. This is where the counterfeiters fall over because most times the font is wrong and looks out of place. A Counterfeit Example Here is an example of a fake TI part next to a legitimate TI part. While these are two different devices (one is a fake 4013 while the other is a legitimate 4017), you can see the differences in appearance between the chips. 
Features of the fake part that give it away include: Pins too wide Font incorrect Logo incorrect and too large E is slanted Epoxy is incorrect in shade Some time ago I applied for a job and during the interview, I was presented with a challenge. The company gave me three chips in order to identify the fakes. I knew immediately that one chip was fake because it claimed to be a TI part, but was manufactured in England. Now I don’t know about non-English readers, but if you live in England then you know for a fact that we don’t make chips here! Conclusion Now that you are aware of the existence of counterfeits you just might spot one in a future design and know exactly what to do! Check out the links below for further reading and remember, buying cheap parts from places like Ebay is not something to be shunned. Just be careful and mindful of what you receive. Below are some helpful web pages with more information about counterfeit parts: http://www.aeri.com/counterfeit-electronic-component-detection http://www.combatcounterfeits.com/gallery.htm |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4036 |
It's a known problem - remember the fake FTDI chips? However, chips for medical and missile systems won't be bought on ebay!! John |
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| trippyben Regular Member  Joined: 26/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 91 |
Except that they have been, and probably still are. Search for business week article and video on Dangerous Fakes. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-10-01/dangerous-fakes |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4036 |
I searched for ebay in that article and it was not found! Where is it? John |
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| lew247 Guru Joined: 23/12/2015 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1702 |
[code]By now I should mention that these chips were purchased on Ebay, but understand that they were listed as genuine and new.[/code [code]Conclusion Now that you are aware of the existence of counterfeits you just might spot one in a future design and know exactly what to do! Check out the links below for further reading and remember, buying cheap parts from places like Ebay is not something to be shunned. Just be careful and mindful of what you receive.[/code] |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4036 |
I think you must be reading a different article as none of your quote appears in the one whose URL you posted. Note that the kinds of applications (medical, missile) you posted require things like traceability and ebay does not count. John |
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| lew247 Guru Joined: 23/12/2015 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1702 |
It does- the quotes are from that article- I pasted them above direct from it If you cant see it then it's a problem with your browser |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4036 |
We must be looking at different articles. Regardless, as I posted such systems REQUIRE traceability and that means ebay cannot be used. (In fact, all the ones I've worked on required a LOT more than just traceability.) John |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2428 |
an example of one of the more insidious lines of counterfeit components is SMD chip ceramic capacitors. used electronic devices such as cellphones provide a wealth of components that can be stripped off, measured, sorted, and repackaged as tape and reel. in overseas regions where the cost of labour is minimal, this kind of component recycling is quite economic, and the packaging is easilly dressed up to match whatever branding one wishes. from my experience in manufacturing i can say that different companies use different levels of supply chain 'screening' to counter dodgy components. in one company i worked with the process was extremely rigerous, resulting in an extremely small (but non-zero) probability of anything fake slipping through. but with another company i was with for a while, cost was the primary motivator, with components sourced from just about any source that was cheap - and the products were most certainly 'mission critical' to the end users. from the hobby perspective, it comes down to being pragmatic. there are some very cheap components available out there on ebay (and similar sites), and when making purchases one needs to (a) allow for the case of duds or fakes turning up, while (b)making good judgement calls on price versus application - you would be far more cautious when purchasing components for your homebrew ICBM guidance system, and a little more relaxed if your project is a transistor radio for the kitchen windowsill. in the modern age of the internet, caveat emptor rules supreme! cheers, rob :-) |
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MicroBlocks Guru Joined: 12/05/2012 Location: ThailandPosts: 2209 |
I buy from ebay only for personal use. Every other component is either directly from the factory or from an official supplier. Have been bitten badly by the counterfeit FTDI chips and not fake but used (recycled) voltage regulators. Sworn to never ever by parts that i have to rely on from unstable sources which includes a lot of brick&mortar shops and a few internet suppliers of modules and parts like s***d, s***kfun. It does make live more difficult as getting low quantities is often very difficult. Microchip is my favorite because i can order even one part if needed. Microblocks. Build with logic. |
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| mikeb Senior Member  Joined: 10/04/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 174 |
One of the biggest scams out there is dodgy SD cards purporting to have capacities far in excess of their true capability. Usually involves capacities greater than 8 or so Giabytes and sport ridiculously low price tags. The worst part is that your PC OS will report the advertised capacity, say 68 gig but in fact is nothing like. I personally have never been caught out because I don't buy this sort of thing on eBay. Buy from a reputable source, locally. That way you WILL get your money back. Their is software out there to test this storage media but why cause yourself the grief. Not only 'caveat emptor' but 'If it looks too good to be true then it usually is'. Also, it is like gambling - Never bet more than you can afford to lose. There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't. |
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| Phil23 Guru Joined: 27/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1667 |
Ditto mobile phone batteries. Bought 2 Samsung S4 batteries from a local ebay seller, presuming I'd identified them as Genuine. Totally looked the part in every respect, high quality packaging etc, but had identical serial numbers. When I questioned the seller I got a very interesting response;- He claimed 100% Genuine from an Authorised Samsung Distributor, (Sydney). He gave me the Name & number of his sales contact at that company. He gave me his account number to use in an enquiry. So I gave it a try..... Got the Sales Rep on the phone. Told him the story & he was a bit blown away. He planned to make a trip to the warehouse to check stock & investigate for himself. I didn't follow it any further. Did I receive Genuine? Still not 100% sure. The phone was never as good on the new battery as it was on the original. BUT that could be to do with age & the amount of loaded apps after 2 years of use. The NFC worked fine, & on S4's the antenna for that's in the battery. Some fakes have a poor antenna, some don't even bother. I lean towards the theory that these are Genuine & that maybe one of Samsung's manufacturers decided Serial numbers would be used more like batch numbers. MrsP had a S4 also, purchased within weeks of mine & both original batteries had unique serial#s. Examples like this make it Bloody hard. Cheers Phil |
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| mikeb Senior Member Joined: 10/04/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 174 |
To all the 'eagle eyes' out there - Gigabits NOT Gigabytes (miss spelling and all).  .
Good tip on the batteries Phil. Does anyone think it would be worthwhile having a section on the forum where users could list sources of dodgy items ? To be fair, sometimes suppliers can get unwittingly 'done over' themselves. I guess it all comes down to 'What are they prepared to do about it' which will determine whether you will shop there again. That's why it is imperative to deal with a reputable supplier. Preferably local. Especially if they have a 'facebook page'.  There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't. |
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| trevoz Newbie  Joined: 03/05/2014 Location: AustraliaPosts: 8 |
On the other hand, I've bought obviously "counterfeit" Nokia phone and Nikon SLR camera batteries from various sources in China over the years and they've been either "as good" as the originals or "better", but for a tenth of the price. |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9588 |
If it's so cheap that it sounds to good to be true, it usually is. 
I myself have been bitten a couple of times. Once was with LM338K regulators in TO-3 case. If you passed more then about an amp, they would just go open-circuit. Cutting them open revealed microscopic wires to the die(no way would they carry 3A), and the die was smaller then the 338 is supposed to be. Markings rub off with your finger. They WERE cheap, so I took my medicine, swallowed my pride, and threw all the remaining ones in the bin. SD cards and flash-drives as mentioned above are also a good source of false information. Often drives marked as 8GB, 16GB or even 32GB are actually only 2GB devices. The flash-controller chip in the stick is reprogrammed to report the capacity to the OS as reflecting what the capacity is supposed to be, but if you try to write more then 2GB, you either get device error messages or the data just becomes totally corrupted. Again, best to buy things like this from a local store that can be trusted. Costs more, yes, but then you have recourse if you have a faulty one etc. Pretty much all my passives and discretes come from Element14, Farnell, Mouser, or Microchip Direct for all their stuff. I have been known to still buy the odd thing like resistors, LED's and push-buttons etc from eBay, and they seem OK most of the time. Modular PCB's on eBay seem to always work fine. I still prefer known stockists though, to be assured quality control and genuine parts. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1982 |
I almost always buy from RS Components here in OZ. I just placed an order at 6PM on Tuesday and it was at my front door (free delivery) on Thursday at 2 PM and I am 2,500 Km from their warehouse in Sydney. I think they are also in NZ and England, I have never had a problem. Paul. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| srnet Senior Member Joined: 08/08/2014 Location: United KingdomPosts: 164 |
RS are in England, but within the UK they also have places in Wales and Scotland. $50SAT is Silent but probably still working. For information on LoRa visit http://www.loratracker.uk/ |
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| Phil23 Guru Joined: 27/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1667 |
By "Obviously Counterfeit" are you meaning marketed as the real thing, or simply non-genuine compatibles? I've got 4 Genuine Canon batteries & two 3rd party ones for my DSLR. The Canon ones perform better; by a little bit; over twice the cost. The 3rd party ones are Ok; not as many shot; but cheap additional backups. What is really objectionable is not getting what you paid for. Cheap price, Cheap Quality, Ok. High price, Not the Quality expected, Not Good. Cheers |
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| mikeb Senior Member Joined: 10/04/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 174 |
@Grogster I too remember the LM338K's and, on opening, was struck with awe that they had achieved super conduction at room temperature  .
Toshiba power mosfets were another example. There have been many. Check this out for a DS3231 replica - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171927292978 I had no expectations as they only cost me AUD $11-00 for ten modules (del free). Looking at the devices there is no attempt to portray them as a Dallas\Maxim device. To my surprise they actually work with my MM+  .
Haven't tried the 32K  eeprom yet, but as I said, my expectation was not very high in the first place.
Funny part about this module is that it includes a circuit (resistor and diode) to charge the lithium coin cell . There are some forum's on the web where users are actually surprised when some cells have shown signs of distress.
Remove the resistor or diode. The module is good for prototyping only. I must say that I was impressed with the SSD1963 that I got off ebay - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200948844253 . The build quality, for AUD $38-00 + AUD $12-00 del, appears quite good. Haven't seen any dead pixels yet either. If you have a serious design in mind RS Components, Element 14, Digikey, Mouser etc (even Altronics and Jaycar) are the only way to go. You get what you pay for !!! There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't. |
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