Counterfeit ATmega328s

Don McKenzie wrote:

just followed through a little more:
http://www.hkinventory.com/public/ReportedCompanyDetail.asp?IDq0

name of the rip off company is:
Shenzhen Henglian Electronics Co.

Cheers Don...



--
Don McKenzie

Site Map:            http://www.dontronics.com/sitemap
E-Mail Contact Page: http://www.dontronics.com/email
Web Camera Page:     http://www.dontronics.com/webcam
No More Damn Spam:   http://www.dontronics.com/spam

These products will reduce in price by 5% every month:
http://www.dontronics-shop.com/minus-5-every-month.html

ATmega328s:http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/news.php?id50

"Sparkfun sells counterfeit ICs" isn't a headline I would like to see
if I was running a company... :)

Surprisingly, some people actually seem to be buying them...

Bob wrote:


Yes, of course: buy it for $0.50 and sell it for $5.00 on eBay :-)
But the comments clarifies it: Sparkfun was very naive in thinking it could
be used for soldering training and removed it very fast from their shop.

--
Frank Buss, fb@frank-buss.de
http://www.frank-buss.de , http://www.it4-systems.de

On 4/24/2010 7:00 PM, Frank Buss wrote:

Yeah probably no good for solder training either, probably won't tin
properly etc

It is a big problem in the industry and the longer the lead times get, the
more the counterfeiters benefit

It is a HUGE problem.

Hitachi (Renesas) suffer from it too.

It is usually visually obvious by looking at the package. The people
doing this are pretty stupid.

Bob skrev:

ATmega328s:http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/news.php?id50

I think that if you can't find the culprit, it is meaningless
to file complaints.

Probably a good idea to pay through an escrow.
Check that the companyy has existed for a significant amount of time
before you start to trade with them.

You probably want to have a photo of the package.
Buying a component today, which is manufactured in 2007,
has it's own problems.


--
Best Regards
Ulf Samuelsson
These are my own personal opinions, which may
or may not be shared by my employer Atmel Nordic AB

Ulf Samuelsson wrote:

    If you complain to the U.S. Trade Representative
about counterfeiting, to the Embassy of China, and the China
Semiconductor Industry Association, you might be able to find them.
China does require all businesses to be registered with the
Government, and there will be a paper trail somewhere.

    In particular, the China Semiconductor Industry Association
might well be interested.  They're trying to make their industry
more respectable.  The last thing they want is companies boycotting
China sources.

    Also recognize that Chinese law tends to be rather tough.  It's
hard to get the attention of the authorities in China, but once you
do, pain will be applied to somebody.

                John Nagle

Don McKenzie wrote:

    Sparkfun needs to raise hell over this.  They need to contact
Atmel, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the trade
attache of the Embassy of China.  Point out how counterfeiting
invites trade sanctions.  Since the USTR is currently pushing
the "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement", ask what sanctions
would be appropriate here. For example, seizing all shipments into
the US from that vendor might be appropriate.

                John Nagle

John Nagle wrote:

I agree 100% John,

Quoting SF:
"We were in a pinch and didn't vet the supplier like we should have.
Live and learn."

Doesn't sound like SK may be going to pursue this, YET THEY MUST. We as
customers, are paying for it after all.

A well known Atmel employee already reads and posts to
comp.robotics.misc, so I would think that Atmel will be aware by now.

Cheers Don...



--
Don McKenzie

Site Map:            http://www.dontronics.com/sitemap
E-Mail Contact Page: http://www.dontronics.com/email
Web Camera Page:     http://www.dontronics.com/webcam
No More Damn Spam:   http://www.dontronics.com/spam

These products will reduce in price by 5% every month:
http://www.dontronics-shop.com/minus-5-every-month.html

Interesting...

Thanks Don.