Original VS Clone Arduino

(Top: Fake Arduino Uno R3 from China. Bottom: Original Arduino Uno R3)

I read an interesting blog post recently on blog.arduino.cc talking about the Arduino Clones, Counterfeits and Compatibles. Indeed a very interesting read. Check out article here.

Today, I will be giving you my opinion on purchasing some of these Compatible/Clones/Counterfeits off the internet. 

I purchase the "Fake" (counterfeit) Arduino Uno R3 off a China site. The price I paid with shipping came to about RM45 (USD15). The original Arduino Uno R3 can be purchase locally for about RM80 (USD27). 

Technically the "Fake" is actually a clone of the Original Uno. Since everything is open-sourced, anyone can take their design and manufacture one, with the condition they don't use the Arduino name.  So basically these "Fakes" are just Clones using the Arduino name. You can see a list of interesting Clones (derivatives) here. Another interesting articleon "Fakes".

Should I get an Original or Clone?

I have been playing around with the "Fake" Uno recently. It works as advertised. So far there are no problems with any Sketch that I uploaded. However I do notice some difference in the hardware. The LED on Pin 13, seems to be switched ON, even when the pin is not used. It must be a design flaw, or there must be some "short" in the hardware design.

Honestly, if you can afford it, get the Original. The built is much better and you know that it will work as it is suppose to. As a second option, get the Clones from reliable (branded) manufacturers. These are manufactured to specs and they will (probably) have better quality control than those "Fake" manufacturers, while being cheaper than the Original.

The problem I have with these "Fakes" is that, it may NOT work exactly as it should. Readings could be inaccurate. Worst still is there are bugs in the hardware design, causing your project to fail. Last thing you want is hardware issues, and assumed it was some programing bug. 

Arduino Ethernet Shield (Original vs Fake)

(Top: Fake Ethernet Shield R3 from China. Bottom: Original Ethernet Shield R3)

Here we have a "Fake" Ethernet shield from China. The price I paid from the "Fake" was RM60 (USD20) while the original would have been about RM165 (USD55). As you can see the price is almost 1/3 of the Original!

Again, the if the "Fake" didn't use the Arduino name, it would just be called a Clone. I was assured by the seller that it would work 100% like the Original one. Come to think of it, how would he know, since he probably didn't have an original one.

I tested the "Fake" using the SD reader, and it worked fine with all my previous codes. I didn't manage to try the Ethernet portion of it. The only physical difference is 1 capacitor that is missing from the "Fake".

Left: Original Ethernet Shield has longer header pins, lifting it higher than the Fake (right)

The one thing with the "Fake" was it was a little Short (pun intended). With the shorter header pins, placing the shield onto your Arduino may cause the Ethernet Port to short as it is too low touching the USB port of the Arduino. A simple double sided tape would fix the issue.

 

Why did you even get the Fakes (Clones) when you already have an Original?

I decided to get a pair of "Fakes" as my developing units. I had paid about RM220 (USD73) for both the Original Arduino Uno R3 and Ethernet Shield a year ago. It is quite expensive, and with the prototyping I have been doing, I am NOT risking frying my expensive Arduinos!

I am using the "Fakes" to develop and prototype. In short, it would be my destroy and throw units.

Conclusion

If you can't afford the Original Arduino, get a branded Clones instead. It should work the same and a fraction of the price. If you are just starting up, and planning just to play with these, get a clone. Save some money and get other parts (sensors) that you could play around or use for your future projects.

Arduino Official