Hi all,

Just a heads up that I received counterfeit Hobbywing Skywalker 20A Escs from TomTop.
I have confirmation directly from Hobbywing themselves that these ESCs are fake.
The seller also revealed they are aware the ESCs are counterfeit in an eBay communication to me...
"our supplier and salesman confirm the item is right for you just in different chip"

Genuine Skywalkers have a Silabs chip, these fakes have an Atmel chip.
The fake manual is similar, but subtly different from the genuine manual. The genuine (June revision) manual is here...
http://www.hobbywing.com/uploadfiles...l/HW-01-SW.pdf

If you have purchased from TomTop it may be worth checking yours.

Genuine Skywalker on the Left - Counterfeit on the Right...








Mine were purchased here...
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4-X-Hobby...ht_3310wt_1139

But there are listings all over the net that appear very similar...
http://www.tomtop.com/4-hobbywing-sk...oller-esc.html
http://www.amazon.com/Hobbywing-Skyw.../dp/B0073AFXAC
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/prod...527284828.html
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170802826636
There have been 122 items sold in the current US eBay auction, that's 488 ESCs!
116 ESCs sold in the Australian eBay auction!

Hobbywing have contacted TomTop and eBay requesting the offending products be removed from sale.
I have reported the item to eBay as counterfeit (please only do this if you have purchased the item and can prove it).
And I have opened a PayPal dispute.

The seller is playing all the usual games of "just return it to me, and when I have it" etc etc.
As far as I know, you should not be under any obligation to waste any more money posting fakes back.
The seller has violated eBay policy (and copywrite law)... Full stop.

Edit...
This is PayPal's "buyer protection".
PayPal will only refund my money only when I pay more money to ship the counterfeit items (in original re-saleable condition) back to the person selling counterfeits
Can you believe that!?!

It has been a week since eBay was informed the items are counterfeit and the eBay sales are still running all over the world. This has given me serious doubts about using eBay.

Please add your voice here if you have been sold counterfeit Skywalkers.
Especially if you purchased them from TomTop on eBay after Jan 25 2013 when eBay was informed they are counterfeit.
Report the items as counterfeit and tell your friends.
It may help build momentum to have the counterfeit products removed from sale.

May the force be with you

Hi, Soma

Thanks very much for informing us about the fake products. We are just contacting e-bay to stop them. I am sure that these counterfeits come from some small factories in China, they know nothing about ESC, they just make illegal copy or even use fake label to cheat users!

Updated post #1 with outside pics and manual link.

I also wonder if the fakes actually are RoHS, CE & FCC rated?
That would be interesting.

Cheers.

Unfortunately, I was also the victim of these fake Skywalker ESCs.

I started testing them a few nights ago, and started noticing some strange peculiarities (such as the startup tones being slightly higher/lower in pitch...in fact, my set of 4 ESCs are all over the place, and sounds like a symphony )

This led me to opening up the ESCs, and confirming that they were indeed fakes with the Atmel chip.

Interestingly enough, the instruction sheet that I received is very similar to the June revision that you posted Soma.



(Click to see image in full size)

They're everwhere -

http://www.hobbypartz.com/07e-skywalker-20a.html

More updates soon when I hear back from PayPal.
But so far the buyer protection seems VERY weak.

And, eBay has been notified by the genuine manufacturer that the listing is for counterfeit products and the add has not been withdrawn!

So far eBay and PayPal seem to be doing very little to protect, not only their buyers, but their honest sellers as well, I'll be avoiding eBay as much as possible now.

Until then, spread the word, and report them if you've bought them.

If no one objects I'd like to label the fakes "SCUMWALKERS"

Darkblade, my manuals were very similar too, but there are differences when compared side by side with a genuine manual.
Thanks for posting guys!

The funniest part is that I have the 4 ESCs hooked up to a power distribution board, and when I power them up, it seems the clock speed (maybe wrong term?) is different on each ESC board.

The beeping starts off the same, but two of them seem to have slightly shorter intervals (by about 0.1 - 0.2 seconds), so they start to fall out of synchronization

Probably the most amusing thing about these ESCs so far.

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

The funniest part is that I have the 4 ESCs hooked up to a power distribution board, and when I power them up, it seems the clock speed (maybe wrong term?) is different on each ESC board.

The beeping starts off the same, but two of them seem to have slightly shorter intervals (by about 0.1 - 0.2 seconds), so they start to fall out of synchronization

Probably the most amusing thing about these ESCs so far.

I've heard some good reports of the fakes working well. They may be perfectly capable ESCs? They'd probably sell quite well under their own brand? ie Scumwalker.

I'm most annoyed about Hobbywing getting ripped off and everyone who thought, and rightly so, they should be receiving a genuine Hobbywing product.

Where did you buy mate? I'll try add links to the first post so people can beware.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Soma

I've heard some good reports of the fakes working well. They may be perfectly capable ESCs? They'd probably sell quite well under their own brand? ie Scumwalker.

I'm most annoyed about Hobbywing getting ripped off and everyone who thought, and rightly so, they should be receiving a genuine Hobbywing product.

Where did you buy mate? I'll try add links to the first post so people can beware.

Cheers.

I have yet to do all my testing; so far they seem OK, but I am still relatively new to RC, so I don't know if I am running it through all its tests.

I'm currently in dispute with the dealer, and don't want to mention where I got them yet; but once it is settled, I'll be sure to post.

Can anyone confirm if the standard SimonK tgy.hex file will work for these fake Skywalker ESCs?

The "counterfeit" looks like a legit all-nfet esc w/atmega to me, so not only is it a better value w/proper firmware (simonk) it also sticks it to the scumbags at hobbywing for selling "DJI-ready 400Hz" garbage. Buy with confidence and boycott hobbywing, if anything.

I've been using these from tomtop for over a year and they are still going. So whilst they be fakes, they do the job for me.

Originally Posted by timecop

The "counterfeit" looks like a legit all-nfet esc w/atmega to me, so not only is it a better value w/proper firmware (simonk) it also sticks it to the scumbags at hobbywing for selling "DJI-ready 400Hz" garbage. Buy with confidence and boycott hobbywing, if anything.

I took a look again tonight at the FETs and I think they are a P/N FET mix.

For the group of 6 FETS, the following is printed on them:
FFA20AZ
FDD
8796

And for the other pair
78M05
051

Originally Posted by Phytone

I've been using these from tomtop for over a year and they are still going. So whilst they be fakes, they do the job for me.

Are you using the standard firmware that these ESCs came with?

I think they can copy very easy schematic type esc brushless multi
. Then load file hex of Simonk .because it is free
and just need make circuit 2 layer is enough (use for multi)

Originally Posted by fantasy1988

I think they can copy very easy schematic type esc brushless multi
. Then load file hex of Simonk .because it is free
and just need make circuit 2 layer is enough (use for multi)

I doubt the copies come preloaded with SimonK. But I agree that there are too many copies out there.