Q:

How to identify counterfeit Analog Device products?

Recently I bought two AD9850 DDSs from a friend ( I think he had bought them from his home country).They worked just for minutes!  After hours challenging with them, I thought problem is because of my PCB layout and re-designed it. Finally I found out that the device had been a fake one ( my friend said he had bought them with a price much less than the company price!).
Now I want to buy them again but I am afraid of the same scenario. Is there any sign that I can distinguish a fake product from its package?

A:

Your best bet is to always buy from an authorized seller or distributor. You're taking a risk with anyone else.
There are ways to detect whether the device is counterfeit, but this depends on how good of a fake did they counterfeiters made. In some cases the packaging will be different in color (a different shade of white) or will be missing details in the markings, but in general there is not a single way to tell.
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

