IRL540N on eBay looks fake - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 11:32:24 am
content: I am on the market for a few IRL540N.I found this on eBay:http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-x-New-IRL540-IRL-540N-Power-MOSFET-TO-220-IR-/271126383602?hash=item3f20644bf2:g:JhYAAMXQLs5RwZUHThe problem is that it looks nothing like the original:FeatureOriginalEbay itemCut on both sides of the TO-220 tabRoundSquarePosition of the IR brand2nd line3rd lineRecessed round markBottom of the packageCenter of the packageShould I go with my instinct and consider this item as being fake?I also found this seller that appears to have original items:http://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-IRL540N-PBF-N-Channel-Hexfet-Power-MOSFET-Pack-of-10-/201020982187?hash=item2ecdc8c3ab:g:NM4AAOSwNSxVfHr2#shpCntIdbut at 2x the price.BTW, if anyone has 1 or 2 original IRL540N lying around, I'll be happy to buy them at a fair price.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 11:47:47 am
content: Don't buy any transistors on ebay EVER (maybe only from some very trusted non Chinese sellers). If it is easy to counterfeit, it will be counterfeited. I buy from China only what is very hard to counterfeit or not big brand parts like connectors.

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 12:03:02 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on January 26, 2016, 11:47:47 amThat's what I think too, but I can't source this FET here in Brazil, and the regular e-stores (Mouser, Digikey, Avnet, Arrow) all have them for an affordable price but will charge at least US$ 35 to send it to Brazil (UPS, Fedex, DHL only).If I could find a trustworthy reseller on eBay or an e-store that ships using USPS, then Bob's your uncle!

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 12:25:33 pm
content: You can write me if need something and I could see if I have it. And I have A LOT of 100% genuine parts which I'd like to move but so far had inspiration to list only tiny part of them on ebay. That is just insanely lot of effort and anyway it is very hard to compete on tiny quantities with Chinese sellers which are selling crap. Though I'm not very rich on mosfets particularly but have some. Have a lot of vregs, SMD and trough hole. Various other kinds of ICs, most of them SMD but some DIP too, a lot of optocouplers, ADUM isolators. Only a few kinds of crystals but a lot of them. Shipping is about $3.5 for <100g package. Unfortunately seems that I don't have IRL540N (probably I've seen 2-3 maximum in some box).

author: vinicius.jlantunes
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 12:52:09 pm
content: Here you go:https://www.sotudo.com.br/produto_detalhes/p/TXpFNE9RPT0=/Transistor/IRF540N(it's IRF540N not IRL540N - was not 100% sure it's the same thing but datasheets look very similar)Brazilian store here in Curitiba (Brazil) that carries it. One caveat though - I can't assure it's genuine stuff either. I've bought from this store in the past and it's the typical brazilian store we both are used to... limited component availability, low quality parts sometimes, high prices... but for R$2.80 + freight probably worth a shot.I've used some MOSFET's from there in the past with no issues at all. But it was nothing critical.As another alternative:http://www.futurlec.com/Transistors/IRL540N.shtmlThis is chinese as well I think, but at least is slightly more reputable than ebay I guess?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 12:53:51 pm
content: You can order from TME, shipping will be $9.90 for DHL/UPS.http://www.tme.eu/en/HowBuy/Brazil/Means-and-cost-of-transport.htmlThough with the import duties in Brazil, likely this is disadvantage that this is not regular post.Are only personal items exempt of duties or all stuff below certain value?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 12:56:48 pm
content: Quote from: vinicius.jlantunes on January 26, 2016, 12:52:09 pmNot the same, IRL540N is a logic level mosfet, IRF is not

author: vinicius.jlantunes
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 01:00:13 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on January 26, 2016, 12:56:48 pmAhh I see, you're right.

author: vinicius.jlantunes
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 01:04:35 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on January 26, 2016, 12:53:51 pmIt's a bit of a lottery, but DHL / UPS / courier iscertainto be taxed, while with regular mail you may or may not get taxed.

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 01:18:45 pm
content: Quote from: vinicius.jlantunes on January 26, 2016, 12:52:09 pmThank you Vinicius, but the IRF540 is quite common, and I have a few of them that I bought by mistake when we still had Farnell Newark in SP. I wanted the IRL540N, that has a logic level gate and is quite hard to find. It's easier to find an honest politician in Brasilia than a genuine IRL540N anywhere in Brazil!However, the store you mentioned has theIRLZ14, which is also a logic level Mosfet that has a very interesting VGS curve between 2.0 and 5.0V. I might buy a couple of them to test. So, thank you again!Quote from: vinicius.jlantunes on January 26, 2016, 01:04:35 pmWith private couriers it is 100% certain that we'll be taxed, unless the duties are paid by the sender. When I bought the MSP432 from Texas, the box came with the 4 magic words: "Impostos pagos pelo remente" (Duties paid by sender). Only in these cases we're exempt from duties, but just because someone else is paying them.Quote from: wraper on January 26, 2016, 12:53:51 pmExemption is only valid for personal items (sent person to person) and if below US$50. Since they've caught up with Asian drop shippers, anything coming from Asia is taxed regardless of value, size or sender.Where I live (Minas Gerais state), taxes + duties total 105% of the value of the goods + shipping.

author: klunkerbus
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 01:36:45 pm
content: Quote from: AlxDroidDev on January 26, 2016, 11:32:24 amIt's likely more than your instinct. Go look at the seller's 45 negative feedback entries for the last 12 months. "Fake" seems to show up on a lot of them.

author: alsetalokin4017
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 03:21:34 pm
content: The photo in that first listing certainly does look like a fake part. Problem is that you can't trust even the photos !But I've had good luck with UTSource. Always got what I ordered, genuine parts and relatively fast shipping.http://www.utsource.net/ic-datasheet/IRL540N-628054.htmlNote the huge price break if you order 5 or more.

author: boffin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 04:03:27 pm
content: If you don't need the higher voltage, the IRLB8721 might be easier to source. It's my go-to hobby MOSFET

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 07:16:50 pm
content: Quote from: boffin on January 26, 2016, 04:03:27 pmThank you for the suggestion.I found 2 usedSUP85N03on my parts bin, which seem to have a good response on logic voltage levels. Apparently, however, it has a low maximum power dissipation (40W max). For now I can hard code this limit on my code until I have a more powerful MOSFET.I just placed an order for a coupleIRLZ24, that seems to fit the bill and is a lot cheaper than the famous IRL540N.

author: michaeliv
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 07:34:12 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on January 26, 2016, 11:47:47 amI recently got burned by multiple fake voltage references from China (Some just didn't work, some had 100x worse specs).What would be difficult to counterfeit ? I see that they managed to clone STM32's -http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/12/21/gigadevice-gd32-is-a-faster-software-and-pin-to-pin-stm32-compatible-cortex-m3-mcu/

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 07:43:44 pm
content: Quote from: michaeliv on January 26, 2016, 07:34:12 pmAt least they really needed to clone, so it was intended to at lest work very similar. With transistors and opamps they just mark inferior part differently and sell it to you.

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2016, 09:23:44 am
content: I bought 100 2n2222a's in TO-18 package from China. Turned up, were Motorola branded gold leaded ones. All in spec!YMMV.

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2016, 11:40:46 am
content: Quote from: wraper on January 26, 2016, 07:43:44 pm^^^^ That. I'd much rather buy original parts, but if I am to fall victim of a scam, I'd rather buy cloned parts (like the fake FT232RL, which actually worked... for some time) than defective or inferior parts that have been rebranded/remarked to look like an original.

author: thejoggingmat
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2016, 03:04:15 pm
content: I usually order parts by the hundreds from eBay on the cheap, have no major problems thus far. Sure, not 100% of them work, but the cost savings even after rejects immensely outweigh the odd chance that it would be counterfeit.(With shipping cost included)(EDIT: Prices belowstated apply for their correspondingly stated pieces of IRF540L TO220)Logic #1: Buying only 1pc from either eBay or Digikey SG –eBay: $1.16Digikey: $32.57Logic #2: (What I usually do) Buying 50 of them –eBay: $16.88Digikey: $145.45Or I could purchase from the local electronics mall and get the same parts (sometimes down to the same batch number & defects) as what I could have got from China 20x cheaper.Sure, inasmuch as I would like to support Big Semiconductor by definitively purchasing original products, the costs would have been too much to bear for hobbyist level.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 30, 2016, 10:35:53 am
content: Quote from: thejoggingmat on January 28, 2016, 03:04:15 pmExcuse me, but there is almost no chance you have got genuine parts at that price.http://www.tme.eu/en/details/irf540npbf/tht-n-channel-transistors/international-rectifier/Shipping is more expensive than from china but you will get genuine.

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2016, 10:00:51 pm
content: Update:I got a few parts from a local and well known Brazilian e-store: Milcomp (aka Compomil). I got 3 each of IRLZ14, IRLZ24, IRLZ34, IRLZ44.The IRLZ14 and 24 are genuine parts. The 34 and 44 are fakes, and bad looking ones.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2016, 08:27:50 am
content: Quote from: wraper on January 30, 2016, 10:35:53 amWhy? The original ebay listing for the IRL540N is $6,80 for ten pieces.At Farnell if you buy big quantities you pay $0,47 ex VAT.Since most components on Ebay are leftover rails from production, so costprice is almost free, I do not see why the price is an indicator here.But I agree that you should always be very carefull ordering on Ebay, in doubt order a few and test them rigourously before ordering more.