... | ... | @@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ Yamaha also used different styles of text on the chip. You may see either type o |
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The left-aligned type is more common.
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# Remarking
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For various reasons, sellers of obsolete parts will remark chips. This is done by sanding the surface of the chip down slightly, applying a "blacktop" coating, and printing or laser etching new markings. Ostensibly, this is done to either "clean up" the chips by making them appear new by removing dirt and scratches, or to falsify the chip's markings - either to modify the date code to appear newer, or to make the chip appear to be a completely different part number.
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For various reasons, sellers of obsolete parts will remark chips. This is done by sanding the surface of the chip down slightly, applying a "blacktop" coating, and printing or laser etching new markings. Ostensibly, this is done to either "clean up" the chips by making them appear new by removing dirt and scratches, or to falsify the chip's markings - either to modify the date code to appear newer, or to make the chip appear to be a completely different part number. Some series of chips (typically memory) are graded or "binned" based on the speed at which they can perform reliably, and remarking is often used to make a cheaper, lower-performance part appear to be a much more expensive, faster one.
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Evidence of illicit IC remarking is normally considered unequivocal proof that the chip is counterfeit and cannot be trusted, especially in industries where a failed part can mean life or death, such as military and aerospace. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly common for Chinese sellers of YM2612s to remark parts, even if they're good, and in the coming years it may become difficult to obtain non-remarked chips. **For the purposes of this article, I only consider a chip counterfeit if it is not actually a YM2612, but has been made to look like one**, as in the very first counterfeit image on this page.
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