Looks like we have clones that look real

I am just betting on it since I am not buying another "official" Ethernet anytime soon. I was rather shocked when I got my Ethernet Shield and opened up the ChatServer and my unique, one of a kind MAC address was already entered for me. Only two possibilities, I somehow got David Millis or Tom Igoe's Ethernet Shield or the MAC address is just a safe resting place for developers (especially the high serials of EF:FE:ED).

If anyone wish to verify their "official" Arduino Ethernet MAC, I would love to confirm my theory.

Anyhow, if you run inside you home network, you will be fine with any unique MAC as long as you are behind your router. You will just need to open a port on the router to access it from the outside or get a home server up for Arduino management. Arduserver is a good starting place

@Coding Badly
What does your Ethernet Shield MAC sticker have on it? Mine has 0xDE:0xAD:0xBE:0xEF:0xFE:0xED which is identical to the ChatServer sketch.

I have an official Ethernet shield with 90A2:da00:822e, and an official Arduino Ethernet with 90a2:da00:6173
(those are the stickers. As others have said, the chipsets involved do not have any embedded MAC address at all, so it's up to you to have your sketch assign unique MAC addresses, perhaps based on the "serial number" that is in EEPROM. If they're still doing that.)

Note that the first byte of the MAC address contains two magic bits. Bit 0 indicates whether the address is a unicast or a multicast.
And bit 1 indicates whether the address is "locally administered" or "globally unique." Locally administered addresses used to be used for things like the algorithmically derived ethernet addresses of DECNet hosts (from the DECNet Node/Net parameters, you know.) Using any "locally administered" mac address on your local network is probably pretty safe. You can use the old DECNet prefix if your net is DEC-Free (AA-00-04), or perhaps something like 66:66:00:a:b:c (where a.b.c is the arduino serial number) if you want the nodes to stand out... (Alas, "UNO" and "INO" don't work. "ARD" might. But nothing displays mac addresses in ascii, anyway.)

Me too. For my part, I'm just asking questions and trying to find out what's going on
here. As mentioned, my cheap clone came with no MAC number on it.

spcomputing:
What does your Ethernet Shield MAC sticker have on it?

Don't have one. I just find it odd that the Arduino folks would go to the expense of including a MAC sticker but fail to provide some level of uniqueness. Especially given the fact that the parent company (Gheo) has a vendor ID.

Mine has 0xDE:0xAD:0xBE:0xEF:0xFE:0xED which is identical to the ChatServer sketch.

How long ago did you purchase the adapter?

0xDE...

Assuming I'm reading the Wikipedia article correctly (and the article is correct) that would be a locally administered / unicast address.

90A2:da00:822e ... gobal / unicast
90a2:da00:6173 ... global / unicast

http://standards.ieee.org/cgi-bin/ouisearch?gheo
90-A2-DA ... GHEO SA ... definitely Gheo's vendor ID

I have an official Ethernet shield with 90A2:da00:822e, and an official Arduino Ethernet with 90a2:da00:6173

And I have a 2nd shield with :821a at the end. All three were acquired in Sep 2011.

Gheo and Arduino appear relatively intimately related. Gheo owns the "tinkerit" trademark, for example.

fungus:

silverfox0786:

oric_dan:

Essentially, the assigned MAC means nothing concerning the hardware. The MAC is not written to an of the chips and as long as they are unique in a network, they will work just fine.

Thanks, I had assumed MAC was written into the chips [eeproms].

after reaserching this that's right you need to burn the mac to the chip

What chip? The W5100 chip (used on the official Arduino Ethernet) has no way to store a MAC. You have to supply one in your sketch.

I was referring to Ethernet IC ENC28J60

here is the info I got

the ENC28J60 does not have a pre-assigned MAC address, you
have to write it on MAADR0 to MAADR5 registers. If you are
using the MCHP TCP/IP stack, the MAC address is defined in
StackTsk.h and is sent to the ENC during the registers setup
on MacInit(). Microchip has a OUI (first 3 bytes of macaddr)
registered with IEEE = 00-04-a3.

spcomputing:
The first three octants indicate the vendor and an authentic has a sticker that is a MAC address (0xDE:0xAD:0xBE:0xEF:0xFE:0xED) registered to Gheo Sa in Switzerland.

"DEAD BEEF FEED" is commonly used in programming where an arbitrary 12 digit hex number is needed, in the same spirit as the variable names "foo" and "bar". It comes up a lot in Arduino Ethernet demonstration code where the MAC address is defined in software. For home networks it's usually fine, but don't count on it being unique.

As an alternative whimsical HEX number I offer "DEAF BABE CAFE", or the more sophisticated "BEADED FACADE". Any more?

silverfox0786:

oric_dan:

Essentially, the assigned MAC means nothing concerning the hardware. The MAC is not written to an of the chips and as long as they are unique in a network, they will work just fine.

Thanks, I had assumed MAC was written into the chips [eeproms].

after reaserching this that's right you need to burn the mac to the chip

best way to do this cheaply is get an old NIC PCI card and get the mac from that and burn that address to it

then throw away the old PCI card that way you will have a unique address aswell

What does it matter unless you accidentally run both ethernet controllers on the same network segment? Or am I wrong on this? The MAC is only broadcast on the LAN and never goes out over the WAN regardless of whatever technology is being used. At least that is what I thought. Sell it to someone in Bulgaria.

Hi
This one says it is official and has the same little green fuse

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arduino-Mega-2560-R3-Latest-2012-Version-Made-in-Italy-Official-USB-Board-/321072990239?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&var=&hash=item4ac171081f

Is it a fake?

Zaplady:
Hi
This one says it is official and has the same little green fuse

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arduino-Mega-2560-R3-Latest-2012-Version-Made-in-Italy-Official-USB-Board-/321072990239?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&var=&hash=item4ac171081f

Is it a fake?

Most likely. Note that in the top left hand corner of the top view there is not made in Italy lettering, just a blanked out section. They probably could not import them through customs being shipped from Asia saying made in Italy, so they blanked it out. Follow the money.

Here is a picture from the official Arduino product page:

Lefty

For nineteen pounds I can't see how it could be real unless the seller likes to lose money.

Clearly counterfeit. The logo is not correct (two circles butted together versus an infinity symbol). Arduino is in the wrong font and wrong size. The "TM" is too large and not correctly placed.

Of all the things the Arduino folks might change, the logo is not one of them.

If I was Massimo, I would go after this guy for the trademark..

JoeN:

silverfox0786:

oric_dan:

Essentially, the assigned MAC means nothing concerning the hardware. The MAC is not written to an of the chips and as long as they are unique in a network, they will work just fine.

Thanks, I had assumed MAC was written into the chips [eeproms].

after reaserching this that's right you need to burn the mac to the chip

best way to do this cheaply is get an old NIC PCI card and get the mac from that and burn that address to it

then throw away the old PCI card that way you will have a unique address aswell

What does it matter unless you accidentally run both ethernet controllers on the same network segment? Or am I wrong on this? The MAC is only broadcast on the LAN and never goes out over the WAN regardless of whatever technology is being used. At least that is what I thought. Sell it to someone in Bulgaria.

that's a thought yes as MAC is only really a LOCAL LAN thing. I would need unique MACs as I use MAC Binding on my router or it takes hours to assign an IP via DhCP

Zaplady:
Hi
This one says it is official and has the same little green fuse

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arduino-Mega-2560-R3-Latest-2012-Version-Made-in-Italy-Official-USB-Board-/321072990239?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&var=&hash=item4ac171081f

Is it a fake?

It looks fake although I have dealt with offtherails2000 before and brought ATMega chips from him and they are good

I will ask him if the board is clone although id say CLONE right off the bat

btw if anyone buys from him he is a reasonable guy and very honest

EDIT:

don't need to ask him as the listing is ended and the relisted listing does not claim them as official

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arduino-Mega-2560-R3-Latest-2012-Version-Sent-Via-1st-CLASS-FREE-Cable-/321062566480?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item4ac0d1fa50

codlink:
If I was Massimo, I would go after this guy for the trademark..

I don't know English law but a defense might well be honest error, he was deceived by his supplier, and rectified the error as soon as he was notified.

silverfox0786:
btw if anyone buys from him he is a reasonable guy and very honest

"Honest"? I suggest you invest in a dictionary.

don't need to ask him as the listing is ended and the relisted listing does not claim them as official

The point of a trademark is to let the customer know what they are purchasing. When you open a can with "Coca-Cola" on the label you certainly don't expect to find "Pepsi" inside.

By including the logo he is claiming the boards were made by Arduino. There are not. By including the logo he is lying. By including the logo he is not "very honest".

By including the logo he is claiming the boards were made by Arduino. There are not. By including the logo he is lying. By including the logo he is not "very honest".

Unfortunately, the way the internet works, probably no one has the resources to go
after ripoff artists in other countries except for CocaCola and Apple.

Zaplady:

oric_dan:

By including the logo he is claiming the boards were made by Arduino. There are not. By including the logo he is lying. By including the logo he is not "very honest".

Unfortunately, the way the internet works, probably no one has the resources to go
after ripoff artists in other countries except for CocaCola and Apple.

Hello again
Arduino may not have the resources to chase "Arduino fraud" but we could have a "Does this look genuine" sticky for people to post links before they buy. I, personally, would not be able to tell the difference between a genuine board and a fake (although I am a little wiser now) so I would guess lots of people are in this situation. Searching for a few minutes on ebay reveals a few "not so sure" boards so this could also serve as a 'name and shame' which could affect their business.
I have bought from the seller in question and found him to be very straightforward and honest so I would give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was taken in himself. However, my policy is to buy some 'official' products to help out and some cheaper products to keep within budget and I object to being deceived.
Mrs Z

Genuine boards are sold by the people on the distributor list (which are listed here: Distributors — Arduino Official Store ) for about $30 for an Uno.
I don't know if ANY of them sell on eBay, and certainly not for half the normal price.

So that means that nearly all of the boards you see on eBay are clones.
This divides into approximately three types:

  1. Value-added clones. There are some vendors who offer Arduino compatibles with assorted added features, different shapes, or other changes. Seeeduino. Freetronics. Adafruit. Modern Device Corp. Sparkfun. (note that several of these vendors sell both Real Arduinos AND alternatives.) These are mostly in the true spirit of open source; they've taken the reference design and DONE things to it that make it better in some way (from someone's point of view.) Sometimes cheaper, too.
  2. Minimal-effort clones. These are simple duplications of the Arduino reference design, sometimes exactly as published, sometimes with a new name or silkscreen. (note that the PUBLISHED Arduino design does not LOOK like the official Arduino; it doesn't have any of the fancy silkscreen, for instance.) They should be marketed as being "Arduino xxx compatible" rather than "real." These aren't so meritorious as the value-added clones, but at least they get the basics trademark law and the Arduino team's desires.
  3. Deceptive clones. Marketed as true Arduinos, with a board (and perhaps even packaging) designed to look a much like a real Arduino as possible. Also known as "counterfeits." Sleazy scum; if you ask me. Anyone who goes to that much effort should have put it into doing something useful instead of counterfeiting. A minimal-effort clone has value if sold through channels where normal Arduinos aren't sold, or even if it's just at a lower price. A counterfeit is just ... wrong.

That sorta means that if you find a $15 Arduino on eBay, the closer it looks to a real arduino, the worse the vendor is behaving. An annoying paradox.

If the official distributors list is up to date then that makes this item pretty scary as it is not even cheap!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arduino-Due-32-bit-Buy-from-an-authorised-Arduino-Distributor-Limited-Stock-/111029081519?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item19d9d955af

and if you look at the writing near the GND pins ...

I am shocked. No wonder Mr Z thinks I am naive.