Real or fake?

MartinM57

Moderator
Well...it looks exactly like the ones I got from China that certainly didn't work very well..

Note that:
- the end pins are "half pins" - shown as "full-pins" on the Maxim datasheet
- the two moulding marks on the top
- the lack of a dimple by pin one
- underneath perhaps - two moulding marks with two alphanumerics in each and no extra printing?
- end to end 1.171 inches
- the vertical bar on the top somewhat inboard and full width

...compared with my Farnell MAX7219s that look exactly like the picture at

http://www.adafruit.com/products/453
..or the "illustrative picture at
http://uk.farnell.com/maxim-integrated-products/max7219cng/led-driver-8-digit-cc-7219-dip24/dp/9725245
Note that:
- the end pins are "full-pins"
- no moulding marks on the top
- a dimple by pin one (but note the Maxim data sheet doesn't show it)
- underneath - two moulding marks with "PHILLIPINES 09" (about the time I got the one I'm looking at) embossed incredibly small on one and three letters the other, plus "MW7ANBS 0745" screen printed on the bottom
- end to end 1.261 inches - quite visibly longer
- the vertical bar on the top near the end and not full width

The only definitive answer would be to get Maxim to forensically check it, to be honest
 

Dippy

Moderator

PaulRB

Senior Member
Definitely fake then!

They were 2 for a fiver, including p&p, from a UK eBay supplier.

I have tested both on breadboard, and they seem to work perfectly. One has been running continuously for weeks now.

You can understand why people buy them on eBay, if a small company like Techsupplies can sell a single picaxe 20m2 for £2.28, then £10, for what feels like should be a cheaper chip, doesn't give the impression of good value from a point of view. For another comparison, you could buy a raspberry pi for not much more than 2 max7219s from one of the big suppliers. Think of the difference in technology levels there!
 
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westaust55

Moderator
Two great photos! Now we just have to get our newbees with "can't download" problems to post pictures of the same quality.:)
Concur on the quality aspect.
However, when asking someone to post a photos for the purpose of circuit fault finding I try asking for a clear photo taken straight on (perpendicular and not at an oblique) to make it easier to align a wire with a component pin/lead, make the photo clear enough so others can trace the wires from point A to point B, and with a plain background (such as on a sheet of white paper and not on the floral AXEminster carpet) where the background design/pattern can make wire tracing more difficult.
 

sodeaf

Senior Member
Well I guess I fallen for the fakes myself.. I originally bought 3 Max7219's from Digikey.. at 13.00 each!.. I could not resist the ones on ebay.. I bought 100 of them for 50.00 shipped.. Well i wasn't very surprised when I got them that some features would not work. I have learned my lesson.. Any one need any "max 7219's" in Canada..

Hahah
 

westaust55

Moderator
Personally I find the prices of components at Futurlec typically better than some other major component suppliers and certainly have never suffered problems with operation/functionality of components purchased from that supplier. The MAX7219 is available for AUD$8-50 / US$8-50 through both the Australian and US Futurlec websites.

Post & Packing for a good handul of components by standard mail is $4-00 from Futurlec wheras some other component suppliers will only send by courier or other means that incurs costs of around $20 and sometimes far more.
 

sodeaf

Senior Member
Yeah well, the funny thing is I sent the guy a message before I bought them.. Asking him to be honest about the chips... and of course he told me all the great things I wanted to hear.. I found away to change the code so they are usable.. Mainly the internal "DECODE" mode will not work on digit "1" but will work on all others.. So I have to send to Binary (00010123) I think that's the terminology.. I'm a newbie so please forgive me if I am wrong.. on digits 2-8 I can just send the number "6" on walla it works.. I did get my hands on some other fakes from another guy with a different date stamp and they seem to work fine (E-bay again).. Yes I tried the fakes Twice! but I did get a good bunch this time.. although I don't know how long they will work for.. I should bench test a couple for 24-48 hours and see what happens..

Take Care..
 

PaulRB

Senior Member
the internal "DECODE" mode will not work on digit "1" but will work on all others..
I said the ones I bought "worked perfectly", but I haven't actually tried the decode function. I wanted them to drive 4x4x4 led cubes, so decode not wanted/needed.
 

Dippy

Moderator
Sorry, I don't know.

$9 AUS makes them cheaper than Farnell/Element 14 Australia. $12 to $15 each.
They may be perfectly fine as the MI direct price difference isn't so suspicious as the previous example.
All I can say is that if you get them from a real supplier then you will know they are the real-deal and you will have an honourable warranty and support.

Up to you. Ebay wouldn't be my choice as I am a distrusting old bugger.:)
 
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