Late 90's Peavey Transtube Supreme repair (power transistor questions)...

[Enzo]

Larger piece of foam sitting there in that corner holding it closer to the camera?

[Phostenix]

If it were me, I'd not contact Ebay or the seller. I would go straight to my local On Semi sales office and send them pictures, test data etc. If I can convince them, their word would carry more weight with Ebay than mine.

If they don't care any more because the transistors have the old Motorola brand, then it would be time to take it up with Ebay. But I like to think they would care.

I'll be interested to see what happens with On Semi. When I went through this drill a couple of years ago with an ebay seller (we all start there, don't we?), the response I got from ebay what we like to call around here "The Corporate Response".

Crickets audio clips

[tube power]

Yeah that image is bad, here's a better one...


Now I'm wondering, how the heck do you ever get the right stuff?

[tube power]

Larger piece of foam sitting there in that corner holding it closer to the camera?

Little bit yeah.
They are the same size, but that stamp is way off, not sure if that is a problem.

[R.G.]

Now I'm wondering, how the heck do you ever get the right stuff?

That's a problem. The USSR, in its going-out-of-business days had problems with counterfeit pharmaceuticals - for instance, vials of injectable antibiotics which where filled with water, and had no medical value at all.

The bottom line is that you simply can no longer trust that anything is really what it's labelled as. Period. Buying from the original manufacturer would be good - if, in fact, they did not have shipments from their factories hijacked and the good stuff subbed out for counterfeits too. The long period of relative honesty in sourcing parts from the 50's to the mid 80's are over. Even reputable dealers can get hoodwinked dealing with the distributors and manufacturers they have used before.

[Phostenix]

You're gonna make me build that transistor testing rig, aren't you?

[gbono]

You think fake TO-3 are an issue - try buying proper surface mount parts from a "distributor" in asia.

[J M Fahey]

The silkscreening is poor quality, don't even what to imagine what the *inside* is.
The right one isn't even centered, nor is the ON lettering parallel to the rest of the text.
The letters are broken, touch each other, have varying thickness.
I can print a much better image working on my kitchen table, and I'm not bragging, it's very basic silkscreening.
Personal opinion: I would write Mouser (accompanying pictures and scans of receipts or whatever), tell them to refund payment plus expenses (postage, etc.) , tell them that such obvious fake should *never* have gotten undetected through hands as experienced as theirs so you think it was not a mistake.
Add that you are sending copies to the BBB (or whomever you thing should be concerned about this) *plus* ON semiconductor.
No matter what they answer, send those copies.
The amount in dispute is not $10/15 or whatever you spent, but the damage to your valuable equipment, time lost, possible amp taking fire, etc.
In the letter to ON add that you want them to suggest a supplier where you can get the real stuff.
Some images:
This is a real one:

A useful page:
Counterfeit Transistors

[Steve Conner]

JM, are you suggesting the Mouser ones are fakes too? :/

[Enzo]

JM, I'd have to say that your real one has its printing off-center to the left.

[tube power]

JM, I'd have to say that your real one has its printing off-center to the left.

As does the "Real" one on pictured in the link. ???

[J M Fahey]

JM, are you suggesting the Mouser ones are fakes too? :/

Unfortunately, yes.
And very poorly faked, too.
Compare these to those fake "Toshiba Japan" 2N3055 I had posted earlier.
Those at least are visually identical to originals, printing is *perfect* (something not so difficult to do properly), but most important, they are *electrically* well made, they are useable.
Only serious problem is that the copper "coin" inside is about half what's needed, dissipating less; so the transistor works in HiFi home equipement, but marginally in MI amplification.
This situation has me pissed off big way, I had to stop production for a few months twice in the last 5 years, I stand by what I sell and have a name to protect.
Around 2007 I had to switch from TO3 2N3055H to TO218 TIP142/147 but in the last 2 months I started having problems again, the only real ones are ST to which I have a direct link through Arrow.
As an alternate "Plan B" I'm making some with IRFP250, but these have their own problems too. So far I have not found fakes among them, I use mostly Fairchild, ST and the occassional IR.

EDIT: They say: "if you want something done properly, do it yourself"
Instead of the Internet examples, now I post a still dripping picture, taken minutes ago.
You'll see 1 fake Toshiba (although gorgeously made) , 2 real Motorola and a real modern ST.
Printing is centered on all 4 and, really, I still fail to believe that ON might have made Mouser's.

[tube power]

Well I wasn't putting any more time, cash, phone calls, letters to the powers that be into this amp.
So I just soldered those transistors in.
It's alive (sounds great) and I'm going to burn it in for a few hours cranked up to 10.
I'll keep a camera handy in case it bursts into flames.
Probably play it through that 1230 I defiled...

[J M Fahey]

Good, you took one sensible path.
Best wishes for everything to end well.

[tube power]

Thanks J.M. and everyone else who helped me along on this.
I'm just going to enjoy the sounds, and honestly they are very satisfying.
If it goes up in smoke, I've still learned a lot, and enjoyed the experience.