The poison of counterfeits.....

[level42]

I've bought electronics from China now and then, and often quite successful.......however....you have to be careful.

Here's an example....

I was looking to get one or two LM138/338 voltage regulators.I checked my local electronics shop and they cost €11,95 a piece: http://www.deradiobeurs.nl/zoeken/articledetail/100060070/

Of course I checked Ebay and found some very very much cheaper one's:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-LM338K-LM338-5A-Adjustable-Voltage-Regulator-NS-1-2V-To-32V-/191332338051?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item2c8c4bc983
$2.58 for TWO AND free shipping.......mmmmmm....

I had my suspision and looked at the markings...the logo on top is of National Semiconductor.
But how to know if they are real ?

Then...I did some googling and found this video and was flabbergasted....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvF7HyYklwI

I had heard about counterfeits which at least still _try_ to act like the real thing (but very often fail) but this......unbelievable....

[Etienne MacGyver]

 

guess its true what they say;

"When something looks too good to be true, it probably is"

[Muerto]

 
What would actually have happend it you installed it? Nothing or an "explosion"

[anunaki]

OMG, this is so bad

Andre, Radiobeurs is actually very expensive. There are cheaper (web) stores in Holland that sell these stuff

[level42]

Links ?

The problem is often shipping costs/time. I like having the option of driving to a store and pick up something I need -now-. And having to pay a bit extra for that service (keeping a store open, having stock, paying personnel) I don't mind.

And honestly, they are not THAT crazy expensive. I actually bought a good part of their MPSU transistors because  else I will have to get them from the US.....no-one here has them anymore and the prices was GREAT:) (meaning a LOT cheaper than the U.S. price even without shipping.

Here's another nice trick I came across on badcaps.net by the way.....

[Etienne MacGyver]

Are those from the 47$ / 1 Buffett Capkit ?  

[level42]

LOL

Amazing isn't it. The funny thing is that they used Rubicon caps....which are great quality....but of course it won't have the mentioned capacity on the outer shell....

That's why I love my ESR meter.....that would catch this

[Luigi]

The LMs are empty?  Now this is nasty.


And that cap is even more nasty....risk of fire 

[level42]

What would actually have happend it you installed it? Nothing or an "explosion"

I guess nothing...

[anunaki]

This particular component costs 8,17 EU here http://www.eijlander.nl/LM338K-Spanningsregelaar-1.2v-38v-5a-To3-a-391739-2969.html

Of course it's pretty cool you can go to a local shop and get your stuff right when you need it. We have Elektronica709 in Spijkenisse, Rick is also selling components

[level42]

This particular component costs 8,17 EU here http://www.eijlander.nl/LM338K-Spanningsregelaar-1.2v-38v-5a-To3-a-391739-2969.html

Did you see the picture ? That is EXACTLY the same one as I found on eBay which is probably fake

Oh and:
De verzendkosten bij vooruitbetaling zijn EUR 7,50 excl. BTW.

[anunaki]

This looks like a pretty legit business, with a store in Ede

but they can get scammed too I guess

edit: of course shipping like that kills small deals like this

[Laszo]

How sad is this. I mean how much money can you make selling these fakes in small numbers.... sad sad sad.