WOW! You're gonna love this UNO !!!....or not.

Well, I guess I can't prove you are the 'genuine' Lefty either. However, the device came in a bulk pack, much like what I've come to think is the OEM method of shipping hard drives, memory chips et al. The back of the 'Genuine UNO' has 0119494v-0 in the upper right hand corner. This one does not. Everything else (component p/n's, silkscreening, made in Italy, matches. Certainly a price performer and a more authentic feel than the OSEPP clone.

Learning:
Well, I guess I can't prove you are the 'genuine' Lefty either. However, the device came in a bulk pack, much like what I've come to think is the OEM method of shipping hard drives, memory chips et al. The back of the 'Genuine UNO' has 0119494v-0 in the upper right hand corner. This one does not. Everything else (component p/n's, silkscreening, made in Italy, matches. Certainly a price performer and a more authentic feel than the OSEPP clone.

My point was just based on price alone. One can look at the official Arduino's distributors list and check them all for their selling price for a rev3 Uno and I speculate you will not find one of these official distributors selling a Uno for $20 even without the extra stuff thrown in.

You think CE Compass gets a special wholesale discount from the Arduino company that would allow them to sell the Uno for well less then any of the 'official' distrubers? So I'm basing my opinion that this CE Compass is a Asian clone knockoff that we have all seen all over E-bay from tons of Asian sellers, in which many are very difficult to detect if clone or 'original'. Common sense says follow the money to reach an opinion on this CE Compass product offering. But it is just an opinion, a guess on my part.

Lefty

Red LED's did you say?? Play "Spot the Fakes" at Spotting Arduino Clones http://www.cmiyc.com/blog/2011/12/26/spotting-arduino-clones/

Here's a hint:

Well, excuse me for posting.

Learning:
Well, excuse me for posting.

My post wasn't directed at you. Don't take it personal. It's just if you have red led's you more than likely got a knockoff Arduino.

I'm all for Arduino clones... just not ones posing as "official Arduino".

Learning:
Well, excuse me for posting.

No one was criticizing you. You just started a posting saying you bought a 'real' Uno and we were just trying to show/educate you on the issue of 'cloning' in the arduino world. The arduino boards are open sourced so they make all their design documents available to anyone and they are free to make their own version and to even sell them. What the Arduino people ask of the cloners is that they don't use their name Arduino and other trademarks on their boards, and some cloners respect that, but it seems most don't.

The decision of buying a 'real' arduino vs the cheaper clones is a personal one that many people have strong feelings about. Personally I own both real arduinos and a few clones, so I have no big dog in that fight. :wink:

Lefty

Your 'tone' was condescending, and I don't think that's what is intended on the forum.

If I was a counterfeiter, I'd make a Note-to-Self: Get green LEDs

The image posted by Denbo looks more like a R2 clone - no SDA and SCL pins. If this is true of Learning's board as well, then it's not only not genuine, it is also not a R3.

Learning:
Your 'tone' was condescending, and I don't think that's what is intended on the forum.

No-one's attacking you, Learning. But it's always annoying when someone gets sold a "real" Uno that is in fact counterfeit, but also a bad counterfeit, so then they come onto the forum supported by the sales of the genuine product.

So (assuming it is not genuine) they have taken someone else's intellectual property, violated the trademark, and then piggyback onto someone else's forum for technical support.

It's not your fault, you were no doubt sucked in by the "bargain" price. But take it easy on attacking people trying to help you.

Hey Learning can you post a pic of your Uno?? I am curious if it has the other 'features' of a fake arduino such as the chip markings sanded down.

You should return it to CE-Compass. They have a 30 day return policy and a 15% re-stocking fee but if you prove it is a knock-off I think they might wave that (assuming they are reputable). If you decide to return it let us know the outcome.

The typeface being wrong on the silkscreen was the giveaway to me.

A real uno will have the box and stickers with it, and the made in Italy thing on the back.

Learning:
However, the device came in a bulk pack, much like what I've come to think is the OEM method of shipping ...

When I've bought Arduinos from Adafruit, they always come in the "official" box which has colour printing on it. So it appears that Arduinos, even when shipped in bulk to resellers, are not shipped in plain boxes. After all, it's not like a hard disk, where an OEM would take it out of the box, throw the box away, and put the hard drive into a computer. The Arduino is the end product.

Is there a 'user guide' for the forum? Like how to include an image?

Click reply.
Click additional options...
Click the browse button next to Attach:
Browse to your picture and select it.

Type your posting, and submit it.
That is exactly what i just did, can't be too hard to figure out.

ArduinoUno_R3_thumb.jpg

Thank you! The additional Options was buried under my task bar. Anyway, here is the picture of the "imposter" :astonished:

imposter.jpg

Nice shot!
Btw, it looks nearly identical to MY board (from an official distributor, came with box and stickers), which in turn looks nearly identical to the model on this page. But they all differ in some details, e.g. the "501K" component below the USB port is different in the three models. Mine also has some microscopic number written on the rear, upper right corner, which could be the key explaining the difference, but I don't have a magnifying glass at hand.

Upon careful inspection, that is about the only difference. Thanks for the 'shot' comment. My project (I've called it DEBE(does everything but eat)) is an interface to a Canon DSLR and strobes. DEBE can now: 1. Detect sound and fire strobes, & trigger camera simultaneously.
2. Detect sound and trigger camera and add delay for strobe (those pictures of a glass shattering).
3. Detect presence and fire, trigger using the ultrasonic transceiver.
4. Interval fire camera (timed sequence shots, like a plant growing or a season changing).
5. Fire camera and flash by proximity with a 'mass detector'
6. Fire camera and flash by magnetic reed switch (photograph moving objects that I've tagged with a magnet)

I have used the Arduino Protoshields as Radio Shack was carrying them, now they are on clearance as they move to lower their image even further.

Amazing. I own an entry level Nikon DSLR (D3100) with wired remote only, so my options are probably limited unless I find (and understand) the schematics, but I can see the potential of using strobes and delays.

Here's DEBE in training! Better get outta this forum section, says "not for projects. PM me if you want.

DEBEs.jpg