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The USB to uart/i2c/spi issue is due to them using counterfeit chips. https://hackaday.com/2016/02/01/ftdi-drivers-break-fake-chips-again/ https://hackaday.com/

The USB to uart/i2c/spi issue is due to them using counterfeit chips. https://hackaday.com/2016/02/01/ftdi-drivers-break-fake-chips-again/ https://hackaday.com/2016/02/01/ftdi-drivers-break-fake-chip...

fpgaminer 5y ago
> No surprise really since most adafruit stuff is rebranded Ali express merchandise. I don't know that I've ever seen rebranded Aliexpress merch on Adafruit. Boards and such are primarily their own design. Proof being ... it's all open source and the design files are on Github. There's occasionally other vendor's products there, like Pimoroni. Again, not rebranded Aliexpress. Besides boards, there's tools and such, but those have all been on brand from what I've seen. Adafruit is how I found out about the fantastic Japanese ENGINEER brand. They generally put a lot of effort into combing through suppliers and finding good quality stuff.
- gompertz 5y ago
  I edited my comment. That's fair comments... I meant more the non-board stuff such as wires/interconnects etc. I actually saw a thread once where people were able to correlate bulk purchases on Alibaba/Ali (since they publish it with redacted usernames) with Adafruit on stock of certain supplies.
  - colejohnson66 5y ago
    It's entirely possible the passive components they sell are repackaged AliExpress stuff. But I'd guess it's because the passives are the same quality a hobbyist would get from buying on Amazon. Their "secret sauce" is the boards and software they design.
jrockway 5y ago
Actually, Aliexpress vendors are rebranding their merchandise. Adafruit publishes the board files, then someone removes their logo and sells it for $1 less on Amazon. If you have any doubt that Adafruit is doing their own designs, Lady Ada often streams herself designing new boards. In general, they have reliable supply chains and manufacture everything in New York City. I have never heard of them selling counterfeit FTDI chips. I have two of their FT232H modules purchased directly through their store and they're legit.

fpgaminer 5y ago

> No surprise really since most adafruit stuff is rebranded Ali express merchandise. I don't know that I've ever seen rebranded Aliexpress merch on Adafruit. Boards and such are primarily their own design. Proof being ... it's all open source and the design files are on Github. There's occasionally other vendor's products there, like Pimoroni. Again, not rebranded Aliexpress. Besides boards, there's tools and such, but those have all been on brand from what I've seen. Adafruit is how I found out about the fantastic Japanese ENGINEER brand. They generally put a lot of effort into combing through suppliers and finding good quality stuff.

gompertz 5y ago
I edited my comment. That's fair comments... I meant more the non-board stuff such as wires/interconnects etc. I actually saw a thread once where people were able to correlate bulk purchases on Alibaba/Ali (since they publish it with redacted usernames) with Adafruit on stock of certain supplies.
- colejohnson66 5y ago
  It's entirely possible the passive components they sell are repackaged AliExpress stuff. But I'd guess it's because the passives are the same quality a hobbyist would get from buying on Amazon. Their "secret sauce" is the boards and software they design.

jrockway 5y ago

Actually, Aliexpress vendors are rebranding their merchandise. Adafruit publishes the board files, then someone removes their logo and sells it for $1 less on Amazon. If you have any doubt that Adafruit is doing their own designs, Lady Ada often streams herself designing new boards. In general, they have reliable supply chains and manufacture everything in New York City. I have never heard of them selling counterfeit FTDI chips. I have two of their FT232H modules purchased directly through their store and they're legit.