# For Want of a Resistor

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2026-09-16
- Length: 1h 23m
- Episode: 21
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/27f44a32

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal host members of Oxide Computer Company’s operations and electrical engineering teams, including CEO Steve Tuck, Robert "RFK" Keith, Eric Aasen, and Scott Tagwerker, to discuss a critical supply chain crisis involving a PCIe clock buffer from Microchip. The team nearly halted production when they discovered the substitute part required a 49.9-ohm termination resistor that was missing from the design, causing clock signals to fail. After a frantic debugging effort involving rework of tiny 0201 resistors and identifying a copy-paste error in part numbers, they implemented a stencil change to integrate the fix into normal manufacturing, saving the production line. The episode highlights the extreme fragility of hardware supply chains and the importance of human engineering judgment in debugging physical failures that AI or automated systems might miss.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor#t=0) Introduction and Internet Drama
- [16:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor#t=976) The Supply Chain Crunch Begins
- [20:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor#t=1211) Understanding the PCIe Clock Buffer
- [33:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor#t=1982) Sourcing a Substitute Part
- [46:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor#t=2764) Debugging the Failed Boards
- [51:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor#t=3119) The 0201 Resistor Solution
- [1:03:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor#t=3830) The Wrong Resistor Crisis
- [1:16:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor#t=4577) Implementing the Stencil Fix

## Topics

- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Microchip (company)
- Renesas (company)
- Cytom (company)
- Benchmark Electronics (company)
- ZL4264 (product)
- 0201 resistor (other)
- 49.9 ohm resistor (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Otiose Ontocyclic Opiniasters](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-01-30-otiose-ontocyclic-opiniasters) (The Amp Hour)
- [251: I Agreed at the Time](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-06-29-251-i-agreed-at-the-time) (Embedded.fm)
- [Chip Shortage Denier](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-05-10-chip-shortage-denier) (The Amp Hour)
- [Not Reely An Issue](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-11-13-not-reely-an-issue) (The Amp Hour)
- [Risky Components and Hardware Innovation - Slipshod Shack Shutdown](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-08-06-risky-components-and-hardware-innovation-slipshod-shack-shutdown) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-09-16-for-want-of-a-resistor. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.