DECskis (Russian DEC Clone Chips)

[EWBrown]

During the 17 years that I was employed by DEC (Digital Equipment Corp) we always suspect that the Russians and the Warsaw Pact were busily copying our products.

Here is living proof that we were right:

http://sovietsouvenirs.com/catalog/prod ... cts_id=384

(I replaced the e-bay link with this more permanent and direct one)

The lengthy history behind their efforts is pretty interesting.


This one has more details:

http://sovietsouvenirs.com/catalog/prod ... cts_id=245

I've archived these in M$ Word format.


/ed B in NH

[Geek]

Heh, unlike today's knockoffs, I bet the Russian ones worked pretty good! Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_05

[EWBrown]

There was a story going around DEC (and it was most likely true, knowing the company as I did) that on the VAX and Microvax chip lithography, there was written in very tiny script in Cyrillic: Digital Equipment Corporation, when you steal our designs, you are stealing tfrom he very best"

At my last job, I worked with a couple if Russian and Ukraine engineers, and they were telling me about the "cloning" efforts over there.

/ed B in NH

[Geek]

Ever wonder though, why the Russian's could "clone" chips and other high-tech stuff, but couldn't copy a Telecaster worth potato chips? Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_13

[EWBrown]

From what one of the former Soviet engineer co-workers told me, when they needed quality (for military, space, research, etc) , expense wasn't a factor (given their non-capitalist system) and they could go all-out.

On the other hand, consumer goods were of "variable" quality, usually between fair at best, and outright abysmal at worst - and most trended towards the bottom end of the scale.

Best example he showed me was a brand new shirt that he bought over there, it had one short sleeve and one long sleeve. Then there was another one with buttons, but no button holes. Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_09 Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_05 THese were mementoes of how things should NOT be done...

Around 15 years ago, I worked Saturdays at the Ham Radio Outlet in Salem, NH, one of the guys there brought in a case lot of "Selena" brand Russian made AM-LW-SW pocket radios. We pre-tested them before putting them up for private sale, and only about half of them worked at all, and only about half of those worked properly. I showed one of these to my Russian engineer friend, and he said "it's a piece of (feces)" and laughed.

Some minor repairs (touching up solder joints, fixing cheap PC board cracks, etc) brought life back to another half or so of them.
He was actually surprised that I had one that worked. He was even more amazed to see one in the USA.

/ed B in NH

[Geek]

On the other hand, consumer goods were of "variable" quality, usually between fair at best, and outright abysmal at worst - and most trended towards the bottom end of the scale.

Sounds like todays "Made in China" to me Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_04