ATmega328 Slug

Replacement: None. We hope we never get these again. This page is for educational purposes.

When we bought 1500pcs of the ATmega328 from a questionable supplier, well, we got slugs. You too can own a piece of SparkFun's learning curve with your very own empty ATmega328! Guaranteed not to work. You could use these as soldering practice. Or maybe some jewelry.

We're thinking they're not RoHS compliant, but then again, they could be...

Remember - these REALLY don't work.

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  • Yvan256 / about 15 years ago / 13
  • JamesG / about 15 years ago / 6

    hahaha, backorder allowed, eh? gonna order more when you guys run out?

  • Name and shame the supplier!

  • Fishead / about 15 years ago / 4

    I've been looking for a source on "Write Only Memory" for a project I'm working on... these will do nicely.

  • Edje / about 15 years ago / 4

    Nice idea to sell them, but i'm afraid that there are people out there that will buy them and sell them again on e-bay with the same BAD ideas as your supplier had.
    So PLEASE THROW THEME AWAY to prevent they emerge again on the market.

  • Chris S / about 15 years ago / 3

    So are there any electronics inside, or is it just a metal slug??

  • Asuraku / about 15 years ago / 3

    So the pins are all connected to nothing? or all connected to a giant piece of metal? Continuity test time!

  • webqaz / about 14 years ago / 2

    If the temperature range only met my application.

  • Larius / about 15 years ago / 2

    Yes, these are counterfeit goods. I do not think it matters if you mark them as such. Please check the law.
    http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/2320.html

  • eewestcoaster / about 15 years ago / 2

    Sorry to hear about all this. Live and learn, I guess.
    As for the slugs, how about a simple breakout board so we can practice? I'd love to play with these but I don't have anything to solder them TO!

  • Lavalamp / about 15 years ago / 2

    Well, as they say, you live and you learn.

  • intranick / about 14 years ago / 1

    Wow -- these are sold out?
    i shoulda got some while i had the chance they're pretty neat.

  • NOTgate / about 14 years ago / 1

    Does anyone else love the datasheet? LOL

  • heathkid / about 14 years ago / 1

    Nate, if you could send me a couple of these slugs I can show and tell you exactly what's inside if you and the rest of the world is interested. Please contact me directly (you should have access to my email address).

  • alfmar / about 14 years ago / 1

    Duh, already out of stock! I was considering to buy 1400+ of them to make my giant ATMecha sculpture, with some ingenious soldering to use it as a disguised cable on some old Arduino project... :)

  • TheMoogle / about 15 years ago / 1

    They are more then just copper :)
    http://wtfmoogle.com/?p=984

    • Applekid / about 14 years ago / 1

      I wonder if the whole reel wasn't a mish-mash collection of bad TQFP chips from various assembly lines, but just laser marked all with the counterfeit 328P markings.

      • GregJ / about 14 years ago / 1

        I ran the set I got under x-ray. They all look the same, so i doubt that its just a mash of random chips.

  • darco / about 15 years ago / 1

    Hard to imagine that these sold out already. I'm guessing they were pulled while the legalities of selling them are investigated.
    That being said, there is a market for "fake" parts like this; specifically for creating non-functional prototypes for mechanical testing or for educational purposes.
    I think there is no problem selling them as long as you get a red paint marker and draw an "X" on each one before you ship it. Sanding them is way too much trouble.

  • Adseib / about 15 years ago / 1

    ...I hate that they are out of stock...I wanted to make ATmega328 Slug earrings.

  • Jeff23 / about 15 years ago / 1

    rsp: Nate, you are going to have to cover your losses some other way than this. As Krogoth has pointed out, these are essentially counterfeit goods but are apparently not marked as such. So if you are going to sell them, AT LEAST permanently mark them as counterfeit first.
    I think the government has some rules about dis-positioning counterfeit goods...But, part of the beauty of these is that they are pretty darn good fakes, and that some of us would like to have one to show to our friends/bosses/co-workers. I'm torn...
    It would be cool if the fake was affixed to a clear piece of plastic next to a real 328, for comparison. I would definitely buy one something like that for a desk ornament/random interesting thing to have around....

  • theun4gven / about 15 years ago / 1

    This makes me worry about purchasing any of the Related Products below.

  • Valen / about 15 years ago / 1

    Datasheet???
    ;)

  • Nate, you are going to have to cover your losses some other way than this. As Krogoth has pointed out, these are essentially counterfeit goods but are apparently not marked as such. So if you are going to sell them, AT LEAST permanently mark them as counterfeit first.

    • Good point, but they're already marked with the telling date code of 0723. Drilling a hole doesn't make a lot of sense for us.

  • ubrch / about 15 years ago / 1

    There's probably no harm in selling these off in small quantities. If an order for 500 slugs comes in, they can probably tap the labels with a Dremel sander or something.

  • BricoGeek / about 15 years ago / 1

    In Spanish this is called "Te la metieron doblada" :)

  • Krogoth / about 15 years ago / 1

    Is it really a great idea to resell these? Technically they are counterfeit goods, so aside from the legality, what's to stop people buying a whole heap of 'ATMega328s' for the bargain price of 50c here and reselling them elsewhere? I can see SparkFun has gone to great pains to point out these are fakes, but other 'sleight-of-hand professionals' might not be so helpful...

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