Craig Lee wrote:
>
> I have been using xtals in development for some
> time now without the external caps.
>
> I was wondering what the fault symptoms might be if they were left out in a de
sign.
> Anybody have some experiences to share here?
> Could the oscillator fail to start?
> Any opinions whether a resonator is more reliable?


It's not a matter of reliability, those caps are REQUIRED for a paralell
resonant oscillator design.
You may certainly see cases where it dosen't start without them, but
this isn't the xtal's fault.
Obviously you had enough parasitic capacitance in your prototypes to let
those specific crystals start in those specific circuits, but if you put
this into production, you better invest in a plane ticket to the
production facility, a bag of caps, and a good soldering iron.
Leaving the caps off is a Bad Idea.