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[on:]

Hi All,

Quick question regarding genuine Arduino Uno's, has some scumbag copied the genuine Uno boards?

I have two boards in front of me, the silkscreen printing is different on then, one looks scruffy with components soldered on crooked, the lettering TX & RX is small on one than the other.  The word Arduino below the Arduino symbol on the front is in a bolder typeface than the other.  The red reset buttons are of a different shade

The surface mounted resistors are smaller on one board than the other, to mention only a few of the differences.  The silkscreen printing on the back is completely different, dotted lines compared to a line of dashes.  The map of Italy is missing, I could go on...

Neither were purchased via eBay, but from a distributor.

Has anyone else come across this ?

Cheers

Mark

[Reply #1 on:]

Post pictures. It might just be manufacturing variances.

[Reply #2 on:]

I've seen the same thing, purchased two mega from ebay actually, and thye have different leds on them and different smd parts etc
I don't think it really matter the brand of resisitor or color of the pwr led, just the layout and specifications,  the company that builds it can probably use whatever exact material they want so long as it fits a guideline

[Reply #3 on:]

Quick question regarding genuine Arduino Uno's, has some scumbag copied the genuine Uno boards?

It is pretty common, since the schematic and board file are downloadable from Arduino.cc.  "Arduino" is a trademarked term, but that won't stop people from (ab)using it.  The only way to ensure you purchase a board produced by SmallProjects (the "official" manufacturer") is to purchase from a vendor on the Arduino.cc's Buy page.

[Reply #4 on:]

has some scumbag copied the genuine Uno boards?

 I don't think you understand the concept of open source hardware that the Arduino design was released under. By making all the design files freely avalible to anyone, they were well aware of and most likely encouraging the building of 'copies'.

 What the Arduino folks ask other manufactures to honor is to not call it a Arduino, as they have trademarked that name. Many companies make models that have different/added features or are of a totally different footprint but are still compatible with the Arduino IDE software which is also released under a open source licence.

 So a specific firm may be called bad names if they label their board as being a Arduino, those that don't should not be placed in the same category as those that do.

Lefty

[Reply #5 on:]

A lot of the far east manufacturers just use the reference design verbatim.  They are still fairly high quality and useable items.

What the Arduino folks should do is alter the published reference design files to remove their names and logos, and replace them with a 'Designed by:' message.  That would eliminate the problem.

[Reply #6 on:]

What the Arduino folks should do is alter the published reference design files to remove their names and logos, and replace them with a 'Designed by:' message.  That would eliminate the problem.

Bullshit.  The problem has nothing to do with the published reference design.  Tonight, for the first time in my life, I used EAGLE.  It took me less than 15 minutes to figure out how to remove the logo and the "Made in Italy".

The problem is that there are thieves in the world.  The Arduino logo represents goodwill earned by the Arduino team.  The people that build boards with the logo intact are trying to steal some of that goodwill (or are unbelievably lazy or both).

[Reply #7 on:]

@MarkPorter68: I suggest reporting the issue to Massimo.  You can do that by clicking Report to moderator on a post other than yours.  Or, you can send a Personal Message to a moderator.

[Reply #8 on:]

Bullshit.

Nice!

I believe you have totally missed my point.  In fact, I am sure you have.

[Reply #9 on:]

Your point is that removing the logo from the reference design will eliminate fake boards. 

You are wrong.  I have seen fake boards with the logo altered.  I have seen fake boards with the logo moved.  I have seen fake boards with only "Made in Italy" removed.  If the logo is removed, the people making fake boards will simply put it back.

[Reply #10 on:]

Your point is that removing the logo from the reference design will eliminate fake boards. 

No, that is not my point.

First, this is open hardware.  That means there are no such things as fakes.  Anyone is allowed to copy the reference designs and sell them, give them away, whatever they like.  The only thing they are asked not to do is use the name Arduino.

Now, I do not know if the originators ever officially copyrighted or registered the name.  My guess is that they did not.  However, in the US and Canada, they will own the copyright anyway.  Not sure about the the rest of the world.

So, second.  If they reserve the use of the name Arduino for their own boards and publish the reference designs with a 'Design by' message, then those honest folks that want to produce their own boards from the reference design can be identified by including that message.  So that we, the consumer, can make a decision to either buy and original, or buy one displaying the message.  The originals can easily be identified as coming from an authorized source.

Then there will no longer be any incentive for anyone to put the name 'Arduino' on their boards.

Most of the items that come from the far east that illegally display the name Arduino are that way because the published reference designs include that.  They just send the Eagle files off to the board maker.  They are lazy, and if there is no reason to alter the files, they won't.  Like most people trying to make a buck, they won't go out of their way if there is no clear advantage.

This is what I meant.

Now, I don't care if this makes sense to you or not.  I wont argue the point with you further.  You are entitled to your opinion as am I.

[Reply #11 on:]

Maybe put holograms or other hard-to-duplicate markers on the official Arduinos?

[Reply #12 on:]

Maybe put holograms or other hard-to-duplicate markers on the official Arduinos?

To much effort for something that's open source.

[Reply #13 on:]

The "reference designs" are already substantially different than the officially manufactured Arduinos, but the objectionable clones look like the latter...