OK, so some folks here admit that there are fake parts all over the place, that suppliers and manufacturers have to have massive programs in place to prevent counterfeit parts, but say:
"but there COULDN'T be fake JFETs, because they're so cheap."
Why would we doubt JFETs would be faked?
1st: of all, what J0K3RX said:
J0K3RX wrote: If there is no money in re-marking these parts because they are so cheap then why would they bother making them in the first place?"
... "These parts are all still in reels and on tape all facing the same direction... they are being fed back into the machines just like that and then packaged with their new identities... Probably takes very little time or effort to do this and then they can sell stock that would have otherwise sat in a warehouse for years. I am sure they can do this with ease and probably have entire plants that do nothing but re-mark components.
... The list is endless..
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... d=11656278
2nd: Consider, a penny X 10,000 is worth a lot more in some neighborhoods in China, than it is in the West.
3rd: Not to cast aspersions against the Chinese people & culture, but we can understand that AT THIS MOMENT IN HISTORY, IT'S THE "WILD WEST", OR EAST.
- Fabulous wealth, enormous energy, & potential, but also crushing poverty, inequality, & oppression. and a SYSTEM that is ABSOLUTELY THOROUGHLY CORRUPT, top to bottom.
ANYTHING GOES.
4th: "Why would you bother to fake something so cheap, rather than something more expensive/worthwhile?" - Easy: Crime of OPPORTUNITY. You, or your cousin or uncle didn't happen to work at a Foxcon?Apple, TV factory, you worked at the transistor plant.
These transistors could have been "found" - traded-for, acquired, for nearly nothing, same with the machines to print on them. - Why not run a few batches and SEE how many you can sell?
5th: Isn't it proven by actual experience now? In this thread, one poster said Fairchild has confirmed it, and another said he tested a batch and found them to be NPN bi-polar.
and read the tales here:
https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/ ... =97600.120
So yes, I THINK WE CAN SAY THERE ARE FAKES OUT THERE.
The question is made more complex because legit JFETs vary widely anyway.
(but that doesn't mean there are no fakes, or sometimes just parts WAY off spec, that got labeled as OK by someone..)
So the real question is how to test any JFET to make sure it will function in your circuit.
P.S. I bought a batch of 2N5457s from Hong Kong when we first found out through-hole JFETs were being obsoleted, before Mouser was out, but had raised the price & minimum order, so 2 or 3 years ago, I don't remember exactly.
- I don't remember the name of the seller. I MIGHT be able to find it. It was a large seller with huge amount of parts and a good rating. I also bought a bunch of 5088s
- I have not used any yet.
How likely are these to be fake? - Had that started (with JFETs) yet?
How can I test them?
I know we have the one test for "matching" JFETs, but I have never done it yet. Anything else?
Or shall I just drop them in some circuits and see if they work?