GoKawiilFloppy Emu maker traces most QA failures to substitute clock crystal batch
Big Mess o' Wires, maker of the Floppy Emu disk emulator, conducted a months-long audit of accumulated hardware failures from quality-assurance rejects and customer returns. Of 68 defective boards examined, 42 traced back to problems with the clock crystal component: 26 boards had no functioning clock at all, and 16 showed erratic behavior at higher speeds. The maker linked this to a supplier substitution made by the contract manufacturer when the usual clock crystal part was out of stock.