DEANS® - Identifying Fake and Counterfeit Ultra Plugs®

Quality, Copies, Clones and Counterfeits

Connector design and manufacturing is far more complex than it would seem at a glance. Identifying copies, clones, and counterfeits requires knowing what to look for. Think of it like the grading system for bolts ie: grade 8 vs grade 5 etc. Without looking at the markings on the head of the bolt, it difficult to know which is which, but the difference is still there. 

Quality and performance cost money.  Beginning with material quality, design dimensions, tolerances and continuing on to tooling design, classification etc, there is a multitude of factors which affect the overall function of the product. For example, precious metals (gold & silver) are extremely expensive. Cheaper products will use as little as possible while still appearing to be “plated”. The plating thickness on a Genuine Deans® connector is between six and 20 times thicker. The overall cost of the product dictates the resulting performance. There are no shortcuts to producing a quality product.

All of this is no different than many other copied products. For example, a cheap automotive oil filter fits your car, but it is still an inferior product. Another example is a lower grade of oil. Yes, you can pour it in the motor, but it doesn't lubricate as well. Yet these differences are difficult to see with the naked eye. In today's society, the availability of interchangeable yet inferior products is everywhere.

The other companies manufacturing these copies do not have the benefit of our initial design specifications or 70 years of experience in manufacturing. There are multiple issues with using these products. Due to the crucial differences in the copies, it is not recommended to mix or utilize these with a genuine Deans® product. Not only will performance be reduced, but damage to the genuine Deans® product can occur. 

Since there are so many different copies available, mixing copies increases the incompatibilities. In other words, using copies not only leads to reduced performance, but also can lead to connection failure.

Identifying Copies, Clones and Counterfeits

Female Pin Color - Gold plated female pins are usually the sign of a clone. While we do offer different plating specifications, it is not done for our hobby products (this could change in the future). Our standard plating in the hobby market is gold male, silver female.

Male Pin - Sharp edges on the mating surface of the male pin are another giveaway. This is a function of the stamping process and is not found on our products.

Spring Shape - A higher arch or different spring shape when compared to a genuine Deans product is a sign of a copy.

Ejector pin marks - One of the best ways to spot a copy is the ejector pin markings on the body of the connector. A genuine deans connector has two 1/16 inch diameter pins located between the connector pins, ejecting each body from the mold. Not all, but many of the copies will have more ejector pen markings, sometime as many as six.

The “Bump” - The “Bump” on the connector pins on the backside of the body will differ in size and shape from a genuine Deans® product.