Reputable supplier of semiconductors?
 

Convergence got a bit weird on my Runco projector, figured it was the Stk392-040 pair, which have failed before, first in 2012, then 2013, then fine until recently, so ordered a new pair on eBay. Put them in and it wouldn't power up, gave me an error code. Put the old ones back and it works fine. What's a good place to get non fake semiconductors?

In the UK it's RS or Farnell. In the US it's Mouser or Digikey. All these make an effort to ensure they have legitimate suppply chains. Unlike buying on ebay or Amazon where you've got no idea whether the parts are fake.

I'm sure there are many other reputable suppliers in various countries (Rapid in the the UK for example) but I tend to default to the big guys unless there's a good reason not to. I'm happy to pay the premium price for peace of mind.

If you're buying manufacturing quantities then you'll probably be dealing with franchised distributors but if you just want 1, 10, or even 100 then that's rarely an option.

The real problems arise for obsolete parts where you have to buy them where you can find them. You hope it's genuine NOS but it's hard to be sure.

The major vendors like Mouser and Digikey don't seem to stock TV repair type semiconductors. The Sanyo Stk modules are widely counterfeitted, which makes the problem even worse.

It was really a lot of work to get the old ICs out and the new ones in. I suspect the replacements I put in 4 years ago were also counterfeit, but at least those ones worked for 4 years! Thank goodness I got the old ones back in and it works again, I was getting nervous I had done something wrong and ruined my projector.

I got STK392-150s in 2013 from B+D Enterprises - genuine, and still working...

I used to buy all the semiconductors I needed from either B+D or MAT Electronics, but preferred B+D because of the range of stuff they had. I used to repair CRT monitors in the early 2000s and got all of my HOTs and Deflection ICs from B+D. I last ordered from them in 2015 - some TDA chip I needed for an amp. All good.

B&D had one pair of STK392-040 in stock, I just ordered them.. unbelievably shipping (to Canada) from Florida costs way more than from China, but these ones actually stand a chance of working! Thanks for the recommendation.

Too bad that is the only ones they had....I was going to suggest that if you plan to keep that projo for the long haul that if the next STK set you buy works you may want to grab a second or third set from your source to keep on hand.

Tom - a very good idea, that's how I found out they didn't have any more than the one pair.

I actually did order a spare set in 2013, but I have absolutely no idea where I put them :)

I want to replace this projector with a laser projector once they drop substantially in price. Much as I like running CRTs I would sure like to see laser plus 4k at home! Then again, knowing myself I will likely keep the Runco until the CRTs get dim.