[sdiy] CA3280 group buy?

[Tom Wiltshire]

On 21 Aug 2009, at 18:02, Tim J wrote:

> How many do you need to buy to get the price?

100. More than that and I'm negotiating.

> Have you confirmed they are good?  There are a lot of these going  
> around that are 3280s but don't seem to be up to spec.

How can I identify a counterfeit? Are they just black plastic with  
legs sticking out, or are they failed chips that someone stole from  
the 'rejects' bin? (In which case they'd be visually identical to the  
real thing.)
What's the simplest way to test whether a chip is good or not? If  
it's just a question of "out of spec", that's not really a fake, is  
it? More like a genuine chip that didn't make the grade.
Can someone explain the common types of counterfeit IC and how I  
identify them? I'm not paying a big pile of money for a big pile of  
CA3280s if it's a high risk activity - I can think of plenty of  
other, more entertaining, high risk ways of losing money.

Ross, have you had your ebay chips in a circuit to make sure they're ok?

Thanks,
Tom