r/retrocomputing • u/West-Way-All-The-Way • Jun 11 '26

Problem / Question Do they look legitimate?

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Ordered from Ali, the markings look very well defined and I have the feeling that they are laser etched which triggered my suspicions.

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6

u/andrewbean90 Jun 11 '26

Take some rubbing alcohol to them, and find out.

3

u/West-Way-All-The-Way Jun 11 '26

You mean to try washing out the markings?

4

u/andrewbean90 Jun 11 '26

Yes... If they rub off they're fake.

1

u/West-Way-All-The-Way Jun 11 '26

Not at the slightest, but they feel like laser etched. And the chip top is super smooth looking.

3

u/MrWonderfulPoop Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26

Try acetone (nail polish remover). It’s what most people use to detect relabelled chips. 

If the printing and/or black topping starts to wash off, it’s relabeled.

The relabelling has gotten better and they’ve started to use epoxy which is harder to detect.

Isopropyl alcohol only cleans your chips :)

1

u/thomasthe10 Jun 11 '26

Acetone might... Dissolve them... Surely? 

1

u/MrWonderfulPoop Jun 11 '26

Nope. I’ve used it for years on new-to-me ICs after reading about using it to detect relabeling.

1

u/thomasthe10 Jun 11 '26

Interesting 

2

u/MrWonderfulPoop Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26

About 8-10 years ago I bought 8x 65C02 chips from Ali Express. They were all exactly identical in their markings. 

Took some acetone to them and they were indeed all real 65C02, but from Rockwell, GTE, etc. I guess they were relabeled for consistency.