Fake resistors

[Rusan]

...when you buy a container load of cheap crap from China, you have to pay in advance, and there are no take backs.

A local music store owner told me about what once happened to a music store in Little Rock, Arkansas.  They'd bought a huge number of Chinese 5-piece drum packages for dirt cheap, complete with hats, a crash and a ride. The idea was that beginning drummers could buy a complete 5-piece set for something like $350, then take lessons in their music school and buy accessories, upgrades and eventually a better entire kit in the store.  Great idea, everybody wins, no?  Well, no...

They sold several kits, and everything seemed OK until somebody needed a replacement head.  None of the heads were standard diameter.  Not a single one. The owner contacted the company he'd got them from and asked where he could find replacement heads.  Turns out, the rep he'd dealt with knew nothing about musical instruments specifically and claimed he'd acquired the drum packages as-is, with no knowledge of anything else. 

The owner realized he wasn't going to be able to get heads, and ate all his remaining $25,000 worth of stock. That store went out of business shortly after, but the other location is still in business AFAIK.


Rusan

 

[rackmonkey]

It’s just too easy to do in places that have the equipment and the low cost of labor. It’s obviously profitable enough, since there seems to be no limit on what gets faked. A few years ago, I bought a dozen or so Alpha metal foil resistors on evilbay. They were shaped a little differently than the Digi-key purchased lots I’d had. Took the blue plastic dip off, and there were run of the mill carbon film resistors inside.

It’s a big enough problem that I’ve seen news articles in the last few months about defense companies getting punished by the US military for using counterfeit parts that only came to light when equipment failed again and again.

So suspect everything and buy from legit sources.

The Pentagon is on a Seek and Destroy Mission For Counterfeit Electronics:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-pentagon-rsquo-s-seek-and-destroy-mission-for-counterfeit-electronics/

Owner of Costa Mesa company sentenced to prison for selling counterfeit electronic parts: https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-cm-counterfeit-electronics-20190604-story.html

Government Contractors Subject to New Counterfeit Parts Reporting Requirements:
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/government-contractors-subject-to-new-24516/

Let the Seller Beware – NASA’s Proposed Rule Seeks to Limit the Presence of Counterfeit Electronic Parts:
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/let-seller-beware-nasa-s-proposed-rule-seeks-to-limit-presence-counterfeit