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Fake Britain


the kid

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01jv9pk/?t=28m41s

 

There is a small bit on fake mics with some guys from Shure and the differences between them in quality etc. Rather interesting for those who get ebay dj kit.

 

I don't know if there was any thing else earlier in the show, but I missed anything suggesting "it costs x per year in fake kit". The bit I was surprised to see was a 12m ish drop with real and fake, guess which one worked.

 

They also have a bit after about fake plugs, ipod chargers etc, and the dangers of them. There was also a haul of fake solder irons that looked rather tingly when something went wrong.

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Surprised they didn't mention the most common way of spotting a fake plug - sheathed earth pin... I recently received a number of chargers from a reputable company (who will remain nameless, they were substituted at short notice and it appears that SOME of the ones they were supplied with were legal, so it wasn't really their fault - they can't check every charger) which were supplied with fake moulded plugs on the mains cables

 

On my own limited testing (I don't have anything like the ESC's facilities ;)) they all contained fake fuses, which were marked with the BS standard and as 13A (this was on a cable with 0.5mm CSA) so a 13A fuse would be inappropriate anyway. When a deliberate fault was created, it explodes.

 

Also the earth pin being partially sheathed meant that, in most sockets, no connection is made at all (although as these were on 'Fig 8' cables for double insulated appliances a fully plastic pin would have been acceptable and, whilst illegal, this does not pose a safety risk in this case). In one of the (slightly different) plugs - the fake fuse wasn't in the circuit at all (which ironically, might be better)

 

They look very realistic, and it's not immediately obvious to the untrained eye the cable is fake (it has a CE and BS mark after all) - most people I showed these to didn't see anything wrong with them - as a result I had a look at some of the appliances within my immediate family's home - and found 3 more similar cables, which I've replaced.

 

These things are everywhere :(

 

 

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