[R-390] Fake Caps

[Shoppa, Tim]

On the subject of fake and counterfeit modern parts, IEEE Spectrum notes some of the more recent issues and how they ripple up and down the entire supply chain at:

  http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/bogus/0

Dell's reputation is particularly hurt, see this article, "How a stolen capacitor formula ended up costing Dell $300M":

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/jun/29/dell-problems-capacitors

And finally I'd like to note that while the above articles treat the issue as new, I know it isn't. A half century ago the counterfeiters were called "Tube washers", and they'd buy used or cheap below-spec tubes, remove the markings, and relabel them with part numbers that were most desirable. They could kinda work for some not-critical applications.

And the military/aviation supply chain is still reeling from fake mislabeled fasteners. This article is from 2007 but really the problem has been around since at least the 70's (although putting the blame on globalization, that's the latest twist):
  http://www.verical.com/about/resources/docs/032808_AirForce_FAKE_PARTS_ARE_SEEPING_INTO_MILITARY_AIRCRAFT_MAINTENANCE_DEPOTS.pdf

Tim N3QE