Sheesh guys the real info has been posted - no need to start false rumors. If FT was using cheap parts from china don't you think they would be shipping machines now instead of telling everyone (who bothers to get info straight from them) that there is a parts shortage???
anyway here is a quote from Dave ....
"There are widespread parts shortages in the electronics industry. Many parts are being quoted several months' lead time or even longer. This has created a thriving counterfeit parts industry operating mostly out of China which is increasingly sophisticated in its ability to slip fake stuff into supposedly secure distribution channels. It also means that purchasing departments out of desperation occasionally take their chances with parts subs that aren't direct crosses, and with unfamiliar suppliers which although they may be legitimate, may be manufacturing inferior quality parts. Engineering dept. is often involved in the unpleasant task of having to approve parts or vendors we know involve some risk. We don't like it, but like Jack Gifford says, "It ain't a perfect world".
So when when you finally get your parts, guess what? If they're counterfeit, they don't work, and if they're legit, you may still run into problems. You're back to square one.
By most accounts, venerable Texas Instruments is the worst offender in the parts shortage. We used to think of them as a reliable supplier even on single-source parts. But when the economy fell a year and a half ago, they panicked and thought it was the end of the world, and cut 'way back on production capacity. Then the economy rebounded and they couldn't supply demand for their parts, many of which are single-source items for which there are no substitutes.
To my knowledge there's no unresolved engineering issue on the "black LTD's". Like someone in this thread already suggested, marketing department would dearly love to be selling them. I presume it's a parts availability issue.
--Dave J."
