Analog Designer Bob Pease Dies In Car Crash

EdwinFreed writes "It's being widely reported that Bob Pease, well known analog circuit designer and author of Pease Porridge, has died in a car accident. He reportedly was driving alone in his 1969 Beetle and failed to negotiate a turn."

Comments

Beginning of the Digital War

[Anonymous Coward]

This is the first shot.

No seatbelt

[DoofusOfDeath]

I'm sorry he died, but he wasn't wearing a seat belt. He presumably understood the risk that entailed.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you serious? First, seatbelts weren't standard in 1969 Beetles. Second, if you did have them, using them was probably more of a risk than not. Third, the article states he wasn't wearing his seatbelt because in this nanny-state day and age, they are almost obligated to state stupid useless facts to coax the rest of us lemmings into following statistically good practices -- but it does not say if it was a factor in his death. He hit a tree dead on in a tiny lightweight 42-ish year old car with a rear mounted engine. A 1969 Beetle has you sitting sharply upright beneath a huge steering wheel with your nose in the windshield. It's far far more likely that he was crushed rather than ejected. I doubt a seatbelt have prevented that.

The risk was driving, or enjoying antique/classic automobiles, or perhaps driving too fast. Sure, seatbelts are a good idea, but don't be a friggin nanny.

Re:No seatbelt

[jhoegl]

LOL AC trolls... they be funny.

Re:No seatbelt

[sonamchauhan]

Are you serious? Its good you stayed Anonymous, coward. Seatbelts not only save you from ejection, they prevent the steering wheel smashing your head on impact.

Re:No seatbelt

[kcbnac]

Unless the front bumper and storage area comes back to you (rear-mounted engine)...then you have more concerns than JUST the steering wheel smashing your head...oh, and in this case...the tree.

Re:No seatbelt

[tibit]

It's a silly insinuation that him wearing/not wearing the seat belt had any influence on the outcome. I'm tempted to think that he was either dead or dying for a bit before that turn came up. Let's wait for the police report to come out.

Re:No seatbelt

[tibit]

All true, but there's a reason he didn't make the turn, and I think that seatbelts had nothing to do with the outcome.

Re:No seatbelt

[FatdogHaiku]

Unless the front bumper and storage area comes back to you (rear-mounted engine)...then you have more concerns than JUST the steering wheel smashing your head...oh, and in this case...the tree.

There's a gas tank up there too...

Re:No seatbelt

[c41rn]

Indeed. Pease crashed on Pierce Rd. in Saratoga and I had a very close call myself several years back near the intersection of Pierce Rd. and Hwy 9 in my 1967 VW Karmann Ghia, so I have some experience here. The early VWs (up to 1969 for the Ghia, and I think '70 for the Beetles) had swing axle rear ends that jack up the rear end in turns so that the tires are riding on their edges. Since the engines are in the back, this causes the car to lose control very quickly on tight turns like those on Pierce Rd. and Hwy 9. After '69/70 or so, VW put IRS in their vehicles to fix this problem, keeping the wheels relatively perpendicular to the road in turns.

IIRC, it was the swing axle rear ends in the Corvairs that led to Nader's "Unsafe at any speed" suit.

This is a bit off topic, but having a technical discussion about the cause of the crash is probably what Pease would do too ;) Rest in peace.

Re:No seatbelt

[tom17]

The reason he didn't make the turn is that it's a Beetle. They are known for suddenly understeering you, head on into trees.

I also doubt that a lack of seatbelt was the cause of death in this particular scenario (or at least, what I can assume about this scenario based on known car traits).

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a silly insinuation that him wearing/not wearing the seat belt had any influence on the outcome.

Yes, indeed, seatbelts remain unproven technology; there's zero evidence that deaths are reduced by them.

  In any event, he obviously wasn't terribly concerned about his safety; he was an old man who knew what he was doing, driving what was obviously a hobby car for him and probably perfectly comfortable with the risks he was taking. I see no reason to get all worked up about this; may he rest in peace.

Re:No seatbelt

[macs4all]

IIRC, it was the swing axle rear ends in the Corvairs that led to Nader's "Unsafe at any speed" suit.

You are correct. Chevrolet fixed the problem in 1964 (IIRC); but by then, the damage to the Corvair's reputation was done, and sales never recovered.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

The core component of the seatbelt reminder system:

http://www.national.com/rap/files/datasheet.pdf

Re:No seatbelt

[SydShamino]

He had just arrived a half hour late to the private funeral service for friend and fellow analog guru Jim Williams. While the most dedicated, most professional, most technical of engineers might be able to apply that skill to their day-to-day life on most days, maybe just this one day he was too distraught to run down life's usual safety checklist.

If anything, it shows that even the most independent of people shouldn't be left alone when a friend has passed.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

kill yourself you piece of shit. the troll is the not the AC.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, now I feel really sorry for their mutual friends. You get out of one service and get to go right back into another. I'm sure there's an analog joke in there somewhere....

Re:No seatbelt

[DoofusOfDeath]

I think his point was that we don't know in this particular case, which I think is a fair point.

Re:No seatbelt

[jimmyswimmy]

Man, I am so bummed right now. These guys were some of the greatest in the field. Both were very well known in industry and had done a lot in their time to advance the state of the art. I always figured that if I ever got back into the semiconductor industry I'd try to work wherever they were - of course, I don't want to move to California very much, and Pease had sort of retired, but still.

I had no idea Jim Williams had died either. Williams' app notes were both clever and clear, just masterpieces of design and communications. One of my favorites was his AN45, which he worked on while up late with a baby; each circuit was preceded by a number of baby bottles indicating how many bottles he fed his son while working on the circuit. One of them - a CCFL supply built around a Royer oscillator - took more than 30 bottles, drawn lined up three rows deep, convinced me not to use that design in a related project. Just a few months ago Electronic Design or EDN published a paper by Williams describing how to build an ultrasonic thermometer - a technique for measuring temperature using the speed of sound in an olive jar full of dry air. Just neat stuff.

Pease was an interesting guy who I felt I knew better. You could call him up when he was at National and ask him questions - if you had a hard enough question. He had some crafty designs for VFC's and references, but I really remember him for his magazine articles. He once described a proposed highway as a mistake and showed a circuit model for traffic to describe how its construction would make things worse overall. Pease was a neat guy who I knew only through his articles and app notes, and boy would I have liked to go for a ride with him in his old VW. Course, I would have worn a seatbelt (did his car even have them?).

Man am I bummed right now! What a loss.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

he died because he was driving one handed.
http://electronicdesign.com/article/analog-and-mixed-signal/What-s-All-This-Driving-One-Handed-Stuff-Anyhow-21.aspx
he shoulda used both hands. oh well.

Re:No seatbelt

[quietlikeachurch]

Corvair nerd here. For '64 Chevy added an anti-roll/sway bar up front and a transverse leaf spring to the swing-axle at the rear which in combination made the handling waaay closer to neutral. Full IRS (non swing-axle) was standard from '65 on.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll just keep driving my ugly old box of Swedish steel and let the masters of nuance and edge cases fight to their death over whether not wearing seatbelts or driving small light cars is more suicidal.

Re:No seatbelt

[timeOday]

According to the CDC, seatbelts reduce the risk of death by about 50%. So, without any further knowledge, I guess there's 50/50 chance the seatbelt would have saved him.

Re:No seatbelt

[macs4all]

I tip my hat to your greater knowledge. Apparently, IDRC (I Didn't Recall Correctly)!!!

I knew there was something about '64 and '65, but I couldn't remember the details, thanx!

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh that's interesting. If you Google street view that area, you see a motorcycle headed towards the curve just west of the intersection. It's a bit overcast looking. If you step west a few increments, it's a different session of the Google camera. Not only is the MC gone, but it's also a sunny day. RIP.

Was the accident west or east of the intersection. I'm assuming he left Hwy 9. That curve is signed with a recommended speed of 20 mph.

Re:No seatbelt

[deesine]

Some '68 Beetles had IRS, and all '69 Beetles had it.

My '64 and '67 were extra fun when one of the rear wheels left the ground. More dangerous than swing axles on Bugs were the Lilliputian brake drums.

Re:No seatbelt

[HotNeedleOfInquiry]

He was a hell of a guy. About 20 years ago I bought one of his books from him at the ham radio swap meet at mumble-mumble college off of El Monte Blvd. He was there with his Bug and he signed my book. Later I exchanged several emails with him, one of which he based a Pease Porrage on. He will be missed.

Re:No seatbelt

[ChrisMaple]

If you bothered to read your link, you would have seen that the last thing he wrote was: "and I never did it again."

Pease made it a point to be a very careful driver. Given his declining health and the mental stress he was under from Williams' death, it's a fair bet that he suffered a heart attack or stroke and that caused him to lose control.

Re:No seatbelt

[jamesh]

According to the CDC, seatbelts reduce the risk of death by about 50%. So, without any further knowledge, I guess there's 50/50 chance the seatbelt would have saved him.

I'm a firm believer in wearing seatbelts, but I think you are misunderstanding the 50% bit. It might make sense in terms of "of 100 car accidents where people were killed, if they were all wearing seabelts then 50 of them would have lived", but that is not taking into account the specifics of each accident. At around 40kph an impact starts having a serious risk of killing you if you aren't wearing a seatbelt. If Bob failed to make a turn at highway speeds and hit a tree head on in a 40yo VW Beetle with no ABS or airbags etc I doubt the presence of a seatbelt would have made much of a difference.

And remember that a car accident doesn't have to kill you to be disasterous... having a seatbelt can make a significant different to what your brain smashes into which can make a significant difference to the quality of the rest of your life (and the quality of life for those left to wipe up your dribble).

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

The idiot is the person who said that 1969 VWs sold in the US market didn't have seat belts. Everything allowed on US roadways since 1963 has had seat belts, by Federal law.

The troll, on the other hand... I dunno who the troll is.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

Seat belts were mandatory equipment starting in 1968. A '69 beetle would have had them. Regardless, a shame. My condolences to the family.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

Seatbelts were required in all cars sold in the US by 1969.

Re:No seatbelt

[Dcnjoe60]

Indeed. Pease crashed on Pierce Rd. in Saratoga and I had a very close call myself several years back near the intersection of Pierce Rd. and Hwy 9 in my 1967 VW Karmann Ghia, so I have some experience here. The early VWs (up to 1969 for the Ghia, and I think '70 for the Beetles) had swing axle rear ends that jack up the rear end in turns so that the tires are riding on their edges. Since the engines are in the back, this causes the car to lose control very quickly on tight turns like those on Pierce Rd. and Hwy 9. After '69/70 or so, VW put IRS in their vehicles to fix this problem, keeping the wheels relatively perpendicular to the road in turns.

IIRC, it was the swing axle rear ends in the Corvairs that led to Nader's "Unsafe at any speed" suit.

This is a bit off topic, but having a technical discussion about the cause of the crash is probably what Pease would do too ;) Rest in peace.

VW started the switch to what was known as an independent rear suspension beginning in 1967. The swing axle was also an independent suspension, but the the term IRS suspension was used to differentiate between the two. Many swing axle VWs were converted to IRS suspension in the subsequent 40years as they were more readily available until production ceased.

However, it would appear something else was going on regarding the crash, as a swing axle failure would either cause the car to roll or to spin. Either one would make it unlikely that he would hit a tree "head on." It is simply impossible from the information given in the article to know if the VW itself contributed to the accident or the outcome.

BTW, in the interest of full disclosure, I drive a restored 72VW, and while not as safe as a modern car, it is not the death trap that Nader proposed.

Re:No seatbelt

[drinkypoo]

While the most dedicated, most professional, most technical of engineers might be able to apply that skill to their day-to-day life on most days, maybe just this one day he was too distraught to run down life's usual safety checklist.

Then he was too irresponsible to be permitted to drive.

When I get into the car I have to remind myself not to put my seatbelt on too soon so that I don't have to take it off when I hop out to unlock the gate. I instilled this habit in myself as a child. Consequently I always wear the thing.

If you can't program yourself...

Re:No seatbelt

[black soap]

Maybe there are multiple trolls? They certainly appear to be succeeding.

Re:No seatbelt

[tibit]

I find it incredible that people can twist someone's words so badly. I never said, nor implied, that seatbelts are unproven or provide no safety benefits. Never in my life did I drive without wearing seatbelts; what little biomechanics I know is enough to understand how they help.

I just claim that their lack most likely didn't play a role in this accident. If someone gets killed during a home robbery, it makes neither a pro nor a con argument for having smoke detectors. The latter would improve your chances under different circumstances.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

I just claim that their lack most likely didn't play a role in this accident. If someone gets killed during a home robbery, it makes neither a pro nor a con argument for having smoke detectors. The latter would improve your chances under different circumstances.

Nobody claims that seatbelts prevent accidents, that's as absurd as your smoke detector/robbery nonsense. But for practically any type of accident, a seatbelt lowers death risks. Head-on collision? Seatbelts help. Side-on collision? Seatbelts help. Rollover collision? Seatbelts help. Car drives into lake? Seatbelts still help your chances!

Might he still have died if he were wearing a seatbelt? Sure, it happens every day. The point is, he very obviously was not concerned with his personal safety if he did not take this most basic of steps.

Re:No seatbelt

[GameboyRMH]

in this nanny-state day and age, they are almost obligated to state stupid useless facts to coax the rest of us lemmings into following statistically good practices

I encourage all libertarians to not wear seatbelts, an awful socialist device brought about by REGULATION! A seatbelt is the government's leash, FIGHT THE POWER!

Re:No seatbelt

[tibit]

The figure you cite is an aggregate statistic. You cannot infer anything from that figure as it relates to a single accident post-facto. Before the accident happens, the 50% figure tells you something, after it happened: not anymore. You need to look at what's in front of you.

Re:No seatbelt

[Doctor Memory]

Understeering? A rear-engine car? Not likely. Maybe you're thinking of the New Beetle? Rear-engine cars oversteer. Especially if you lift off the gas or tap the brakes in a corner when you're carrying any speed. This accident sounds more like a tie rod or other steering-related failure to me.

Re:No seatbelt

[tom17]

Yes likely. If you know anything about the car in question, you know that they have dangerously hideous understeer. This is a known problem with them and people put bags of sand up front to try to prevent it.

The problem is that the engine is behind the axle and there is just not enough weight on the front wheels.

I cannot speak for *other* rear engined cars, but this is a Beetle problem. I know that they did something to avoid the inherent understeer on the 911(one of my fave cars), but not sure what though.

Re:No seatbelt

[timeOday]

As I stated, "...without any further knowledge..."

Sure, any additional information will restrict the problem and change that probability. If you knew everything, it would be foolish to talk about probabilities at all; either the person dies, or they do not. So technically it is wrong to say, "in this case there's a X% probability he would have lived with a seatbelt" without specifying exactly what previous accidents you consider to be "this case." If you could re-create the *exact* conditions of this crash 100 times (down to the precise physical condition of the victim, emergency response, etc.), the number of survivors would be either 0 or 100.

Re:No seatbelt

[spauldo]

Wearing a seatbelt in a '69beetle is of dubious value if you're going to run into a tree.

There's not much in front of you but a light frame, some sheet metal, and a gas tank. The windows are small, so you're unlikely to be ejected, and the steering wheel is probably going to slam into you even if you are wearing a belt, just because the entire front end is going to look like a smashed soda can.

I'm not saying seat belts don't save lives - evidence is pretty clear that they do - but seat belts are generally accompanied by other safety designs on the car. There's a reason Beetles stopped being sold in the U.S.

That being said, yeah, he knew the risk. Anyone old enough to drive with an IQ over 70 knows the risk. Some of us choose not to wear them. It doesn't make it any less sad when someone dies, or justify dismissing their deaths just because they knew the risk.

Re:No seatbelt

[Anonymous Coward]

Never in my life did I drive without wearing seatbelts; what little biomechanics I know is enough to understand how they help.

I just claim that their lack most likely didn't play a role in this accident.

You keep saying that, but you also keep failing to justify it. How do you know that a seatbelt wouldn't have made a difference?

I can easily argue that it very well might have. The description of the accident in the SJ Mercury News says that he slid off the road while making a sharp left turn and struck a tree. That means his car was sliding to the right, which makes an impact somewhere on the passenger side of the vehicle likely, on the RHS of the nose or somewhere along the RHS of the body. That in turn means a large percentage of the vehicle's structure was available to serve as a crumple zone to save him, increasing his chance of survival... if he was wearing a belt. Since he wasn't, instead of being decelerated by the belt, he probably struck the tree and/or the interior of the car at high velocity.

There's a lot of semi-informed speculation in there, but at least there are the outlines of a real argument. You want anybody to believe that seatbelts couldn't have saved the man, make a real argument of your own. But I'm not holding my breath for anything particularly rational:

If someone gets killed during a home robbery, it makes neither a pro nor a con argument for having smoke detectors. The latter would improve your chances under different circumstances.

Total analogy fail.

Seatbelts are safety devices intended to reduce injury and death in car accidents. It is always appropriate to talk about them in conjunction with fatal crashes.

Smoke detectors are safety devices intended to reduce injury and death in fires. It is never appropriate to talk about them in the context of home robberies because they aren't even remotely supposed to do anything about home robberies.

Re:No seatbelt

[Phoghat]

Not only that, but he was the author of a how to avoid accidents book.

Re:No seatbelt

[MikeFM]

Maybe he should have read this book.

Re:No seatbelt

[niftymitch]

Seatbelts were required in all cars sold in the US by 1969.

Required or not a seatbelt is a good idea because it
can keep you behind the wheel so you have a
chance to control the car when you hit a rut/ bump/
lump/ or hit a slick spot or just need to recover
from a loss of attention or are side swiped by an idiot.

This loss of control and the resultant risk to others
is what convinced me that seatbelts were a good
idea. Since I have libertarian leanings I feel that this
maintaining control bit is part of the social contract I
enter into when I drive. Also.....
In this regard seatbelts differ from helmets that
motorcycle folk are required to wear. I think
that the absence of a helmet is an implicit organ
donor statement and should be a personal choice.

What I find astounding is that five point harnesses are not provisioned
for in the law should you want one.

As for VWs it is perhaps a good idea to keep a couple
old tires in the boot up front. The crumple zone mostly
extends into the passenger compartment and having
some old tires to cushion the crumple space can be
a good thing.

Auto accidents kill way too many people...
S. Cray and now Bob.

In 2009 33,808 fatalities associated with the highways in the US...
Ten times the number of some other very serious problems that get much more news and press time.

Re:No seatbelt

[SydShamino]

Then he was too irresponsible to be permitted to drive.

I already said that:

If anything, it shows that even the most independent of people shouldn't be left alone when a friend has passed.

Two great people taken from us.

[Anonymous Coward]

First Ryan Dunn, and now this.

Re:Who?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. Most of us rarely get credit beyond our nerdy circle.

Always die in threes

[Anonymous Coward]

Seymour Cray, the guy from Jackass and this guy

Re:Always die in threes

[arielCo]

Cray died October 5, 1996 (age 71)

Not exactly contemporaneous.

of head and neck injuries suffered in a traffic collision

Same COD. Is that what you meant?

"Failed to negotiate a turn."

[Anonymous Coward]

I love this wording. Sorry, dead guy. :(

Died in a '69 Beetle

[Alien Being]

It sounds like he was a brilliant EE but, if he was driving one of those things, then he was a damned fool when it came to ME and physics.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[mirix]

Beetles were fairly safe for the era. Not like a modern car, but, then it wouldn't be a classic then, would it.

Wearing his seatbelt might have been a start, though.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Alien Being]

Bullshit. They were deathtraps from day one.

re: died in a '69 Beetle

[Anonymous Coward]

'69 Beetles didn't have seat belts, thus he wasn't required to use one. Now it seems strange but there was a lot of reistance to seat belts, you were giving up some of your freedom. yes I know this sounds like a tea party talking point. Look at this from another angle, there are still old cars out there with old style headlights that don't really light the road, but it is illegal to upgrade them.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[mirix]

i suppose comparable to other small cars from the era would have been better wording. superior to a motor bike at least :p

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[tibit]

You're a damned fool in making assumptions. There's nothing out there so far (else post links) that indicates that seat belts (or their lack) played any role in the outcome. Shut up.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Anonymous Coward]

They were all deathtraps. Nader is our champion, there.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Anonymous Coward]

Does a '69 Beetle even have seat belts, People?

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Alien Being]

No, even compared to other small cars and motorcycles, Beetles were dangerous.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Twisted64]

Nothing out there except TFA. Read it. I've got nothing against people driving dangerous cars, really, but not wearing a seatbelt is the height of stupidity.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[PNutts]

Yes, but typically they are tied to the door handles to keep the doors on or the ceiling grab loops to keep the seats from dropping out the bottom.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[mirix]

Weren't they mandated in '64 or 65?

I have a 73, it has (shoulder) seatbelts. not sure what would have come in a '69.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[mirix]

Did a beetle run over your puppy or something? You're just trolling now.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[tom17]

Probably not, they are just known for hideous understeer. That's what you get for putting the engine in the wrong place.

And yes, I am aware that one of my favourite cars also has the engine in the same, wrong, place. I guess they have more weight up front to counteract it.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Alien Being]

I'm not trolling. They were notoriously unsafe.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[retchdog]

Analog designer Bob Pease, 71, killed by ADOLF HITLER.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[istewart]

UNDERsteer, in a rear-engine car? I think you have a bit of confusion in terms there. Oversteer is what occurs when the rear of a vehicle loses traction due to weight imbalance. Additionally, Ralph Nader's criticism of the similarly rear-engined Corvair (and its contemporary Volkswagens) in "Unsafe at Any Speed" had a lot to do with that vehicle's use of a swing-axle transaxle, in which the rear axle's suspension only has one, vertical, degree of freedom and thus has a tendency to bounce upwards during oversteer incidents and risk overturning the whole car. 1969 and later Beetles had independent rear suspension, which does not exhibit this behavior. The Corvair was killed before it could be evolved in this direction.

Additionally, Porsche fanatics will tell you that the 911's rear engine placement is actually an advantage in terms of traction during corner exit, so long as you are not foolish enough to lift the throttle in mid-turn.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Jstlook]

While I appreciate the Godwin'd article, saying Adolf was responsible is akin to suggesting that Palin owns the largest diamond mine in the world.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[retchdog]

a ridiculous godwin is a good godwin. and it was kind of meant as a joke on the heated trolling/discussion below regarding "seatbelts: useless, or nanny state murder device?"

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Anonymous Coward]

Well said, fellow AC. I own one of Nader's first causes, a '62 Chevy Corvair, complete with odd handling (don't jam the brakes whilst turning at high speed...due to weight transfer you must accelerate through turns to maintain full control, etc), a large empty space (trunk) and a great fire-hazard (gas tank) between the "firewall" and the headlights, and a steering wheel made of semi-pokey metal sitting 16 inches in front of my chest that is mounted on a non-collapsible steering column (!). There's not a seat belt in sight. As bad as all this sounds, it's not much worse than the majority of cars on the market at the time. I keep the Corvair because its driving experience is more engaging than most vehicles I've had the good fortune to pilot, and I fully accept the risks (I also have a few motorcycles, and wear a helmet). However, the US (and foreign) automakers of the '60s thought they could keep designing cars with essentially zero safety features, and deserved every single thing they got from Nader and his fellow consumer advocates. Oops, off topic! I love that Mr. Pease had the courage to drive an old Beetle on today's roads, and hope he gets some well-deserved rest.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[quietlikeachurch]

The Corvair got IRS from '65-'69, which methinks inspired VW to make the change in their cars. Some folks say the late-model Corvairs are the best-handling american classics out there.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Grygus]

Nothing out there except TFA. Read it. I've got nothing against people driving dangerous cars, really, but not wearing a seatbelt is the height of stupidity.

What a strange attitude you have. If a man is eaten by a shark, will you post that he was an idiot and had it coming because he wasn't wearing a life preserver? If he is hit by a bus, will it be his just desserts because his left shoe was dangerously untied? Simply because he was not wearing a seat belt does not mean that it had anything to do with his death. The article doesn't say, and you do not know. Your automatic disrespect says a lot more about you than his seat belt says about him.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Anonymous Coward]

yes, there is a small chance you are correct. the problem is that other idiots may take what you say to mean they should stop wearing seatbelts. or is that a good thing? after all, they are idiots! wait a minute.. . .. oh, you are a genius. what better way to eradicate the mentally challenged than with slashdot comments urging them to drive little hitler beetles with no seatbelts!

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Twisted64]

I read in the comments that the '69 beetle didn't come with seatbelts, so OK, he did have a (bad) reason for not wearing one - he didn't have to. I stand by my point. Whether or not it had anything to do with his death, driving around without wearing a seatbelt is an unspeakably bad idea. I'm not going to bother fixing your broken analogies.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Anonymous Coward]

With not enough weight to load the front wheels, yes it would understeer. no load + turn steering wheel = slipping front wheels = understeer.
Most normal people crash going into corners, not exiting, so traction during exit is of less importance.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[jd]

Ah yes, and F1 cars place the engines at the back for amusement value? Rear engine cars tend to have better handling.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[jd]

So was the Mini Metro, the Reliant Robin, and the Sinclair C5. All three were probably more dangerous than a VW Beetle.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[xaxa]

You're a damned fool in making assumptions. There's nothing out there so far (else post links) that indicates that seat belts (or their lack) played any role in the outcome. Shut up.

You've made four comments saying pretty much the same thing. Maybe you should close the window and do something else, there's no point getting stressed over a Slashdot comment (or four).

Also, if you don't wear a seatbelt I strongly suggest you reconsider that decision. At the very least, you must wear one when sitting in the back, as that will prevent you from crushing the person in the front seat in a collision.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[xaxa]

I sometimes read the reports from railway accidents in the UK -- there's often interesting science (physics, metallurgy, etc) involved in establishing what happened, why, and how to prevent it happening again.

The reports always give many causes. For example, this one (where a bridge over a river partially collapsed) had these causes:
- The bridge was undermined by the water in the river (immediate cause)
- An obstruction in the river channelled the flow towards the east abutment
- The railway company was not aware of the obstruction
- Staff inspecting the track were not aware that they must check for obstructions in rivers crossed by railway bridges
- There was no way for members of the public to report the obstruction
- The bridge (from 1858) had shallow foundations
- ...lots more

Without investigation we won't know what happened in this case, but if the man died by impacting the steering wheel (etc) then not wearing a seatbelt is likely to be a causal factor. If he was already dead then it obviously isn't.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[MichaelSmith]

In 1974 I was sitting in a fast food joint in Panama city. A VW beetle in the car park burst into flames. My dad reckons it was the steel springs in the back seat. If you sit down too hard the springs get pushed down on to the battery terminals.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Anonymous Coward]

Your automatic disrespect says a lot more about you than his seat belt says about him.

And the fact that I'm still alive while he's dead says a lot more still.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[garyebickford]

IIRC most/all F1 cars are mid-engine configuration - they have the engine ahead of the rear axle, like the Porsche 914 and unlike all the other Porsches that I know anything about. The Porsche 911 and its relatives have a lot of stuff that's been done to ameliorate the effects of the weight imbalance.

Rear engine cars can start out with understeer (the front wheels being too light to get a grip), then suddenly switch to oversteer (when they finally grip, and the big weight in the back suddenly becomes the end of a pendulum). This can ruin one's whole day.

Mid engine cars generally have very good handling (but can be dicey due to the shorter turning moment - when they break loose they can spin very quickly.) I was told by someone who raced in that class the the 914 had the best handling of any car in the class, but was underpowered.

Also, you're driving with the fuel tank in your lap!

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[tehcyder]

complete with odd handling (don't jam the brakes whilst turning at high speed...due to weight transfer you must accelerate through turns to maintain full control, etc),

That's basically how motorcycles handle, slamming on the anchors half way through a bend is seldom a good idea at any sort of speed. You car drivers don't realise how easy you have it now.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[quacking duck]

And in the dead of winter this year, with temperatures around -30C, a modern Audi spontaneously combusted in the parking lot of a local company. Electrical shorts are still an occasional problem.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[tom17]

I know someone explained below already, but I just have to say, I am *so* not confused when it comes to understeer vs oversteer lol :)

Indeed, I did mean understeer. There is not enough weight on the front of a Beetle and they are known to just do nothing when you try to turn to avoid that tree. You end up understeering and hitting the tree head on. I know that people would put bags of sand in the storage area in the front to help turn-in.

The 'one of my favourite cars' I mentioned above is in fact the 911 that you mention. Yes, the engine at the rear can be a great advantage for power delivery on the exit as long as you are careful, but we all know what the best place for the engine is :)

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[tom17]

Thank you for explaining it to him :)

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about engine layouts in this thread :(

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[GameboyRMH]

All F1 cars are mid-engined, and have been for at least the last 40 years. You can get away with placing the engine outside the wheelbase (most FWD cars and most Porsches have this configuration) but you need an unusual suspension setup to make the car handle well with such layouts. Handling-wise, the closer the engine is to the center of the vehicle, the better. The ideal setup is like an F1 car: The engine is just behind the center of the car, with the driver directly in front to balance it out and put the center of gravity exactly between the wheels. Of course this destroys cargo capacity (supercars with similar layouts can carry very little, especially if the radiator stack is in the front, which is the best place to have it in a closed-wheel mid-engined car) and it isn't the safest layout.

The best compromise is probably a front-midships layout, like the Corvette, Mazda RX8, Honda S2000 and Scion FR-S concept. In this setup the engine is just behind the front wheels. This way you don't have to worry about the engine crushing the driver, the whole rear of the vehicle is still free for cargo, and you still get very good weight distribution. The downside is that you either have to use a very short engine or you'll have a long hood (the RX8 and FR-S have short engines, the S2000 and Corvette have long hoods).

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Alsee]

Porsche fanatics will tell you that the 911's rear engine placement is actually an advantage in terms of traction during corner exit, so long as you are not foolish enough to lift the throttle in mid-turn.

Swell advice, so long as the universe is not foolish enough to present you with a hazard requiring you to back off on the gas.

-

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[tibit]

Sorry. You don't know what happened, blaming not wearing seatbelts at this point is very silly.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[tibit]

Maybe I let inlaws ride in the front ;) I did get worked up, yes.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Doctor Memory]

Handling-wise, the closer the engine is to the center of the vehicle, the better.

Depends on what kind of handling you like. Cars like my 944 have a higher polar moment of inertia, so they turn in slower but it's easier to provoke a little oversteer if you need it. Mid-engine cars turn in faster, but it's pretty difficult to get them to oversteer in a useful fashion. At least, we were never able to really swing my friend's MR-2 around like that, while neither of us had any problem doing it in the Porsche.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[spauldo]

My '65 Kombi didn't have them, and the cops never bothered me about them.

I assumed back then that is didn't come with them from the factory, and that's the assumption the cops made as well. Looking back, it might have been because it had been a clown bus and they had stripped out a lot of the interior.

Re:Died in a '69 Beetle

[Anonymous Coward]

Bob did what he enjoyed. Probably not the car; rather a medical condition. The 'ol VW bugs could keep pace with anything on a road-course... trust me- I know. Bob- he ran the 'ol VW to save fuel and enjoy the rumble from the backseat. Wish I had one again... rest-in-peace Mr. Pease and I'll see you soon.

Farewell Bob, we'll miss you...

[jenningsthecat]

As an analog designer, I've come to appreciate Bob's many contributions over the years. He was a good writer and a terrific engineer, and he knew both theory and hands-on practice better than most of us. He could explain complex concepts in simple language, and it seemed he was a no-nonsense kind of guy yet had a good sense of humour. The electronics field, from hobbyists, to other engineers, to semiconductor companies, owes him a debt of gratitude. He will be missed.

Re:Farewell Bob, we'll miss you...

[kubitus]

will be remembered not only for his electronics - also he outspoke that if you continue to neglect engineers, young talent will trun away from engineering. ( See Obamas plans to get more engineers )

Re:Who?

[Anonymous Coward]

My professor in undergrad (3 years back) told me that there were only 100s of you in my country Extrapolating it, I would make a guess that there only a couple of thousands of Analog Engineers spread across IBM, Intel and the likes. Is that true?

Sad Day

[StonyCreekBare]

I used to live for his regular columns. I loved his wit, and curmudgeonly attitude. I met him a few times and found him the same in person as he was in print. He will be missed. Yeah, VW beetles were dangerous little cars. I drove one for years (a 1964 model) and I was very careful, and knew what a death trap they could be. But how many of us ride motorcycles, or other dangerous vehicles. Life is a series of risks. I guess we could wrap ourselves in cotton balls and stay home. He was not a "damned fool" just a human being who chose to do something he knew was risky, who no doubt weighed the risks, and decided to go ahead.

Re:Sad Day

[Canonical Coward]

Bob was the quintessential curmudgeon and he had the chops and credentials to do it well. But he was never spiteful or hateful.

He truly did dislike engineers who didn't make smoke and relied on Spice simulations to design things, but he knew what he was talking about. His floobydust stories were spot on. I just had the pleasure of rereading his take on the Taguchi method.

I never got to meet him, but I did manage once or twice to exchange mail. His column was the first thing I looked for, and his books are legend.

Goodbye Bob. Thank you Pease family for sharing him with us.

Re:Sad Day

[NixieBunny]

He did put more miles on VW Beetles than perhaps a handful of people. So the odds were bound to catch up to him sooner or later.

No doubt his crash was due way more to his mental state after having just been to Jim Williams' funeral than to anything else.

Re:Sad Day

[AmiMoJo]

It wasn't just his own life at risk though. If he had hit another car or pedestrians other people could have died too.

Maybe I'm biased because he is such a legend but I'm inclined to chalk this one up to a genuine accident.

Re:Sad Day

[spauldo]

You could say the same thing about any car. No matter how you put it, getting into a machine that can travel at higher velocities than the human senses were evolved to deal with is more dangerous than walking. It puts yourself and any others you come near in danger. For some reason, most of society thinks it's worth it.

Maybe I'm biased because I like classic cars, but I feel that if they were safe enough to drive around in the '60s, they're safe enough (if maintained) to drive now. If that's not safe enough, you can always stay home.

Re:Sad Day

[AmiMoJo]

Not singling you out, but why do so many Slashdot posters assume that when someone makes a point they believe it to the absolute extreme of what is possible?

All I am trying to say is that when you decide to take a risk it is not just your own well-being you have consider, as the person I was replying to seemed to be implying that risk taking on the road is acceptable. Well, it is to the point that all road use carries some risk, but beyond that it quickly becomes hard to justify. Classic cars are fine, as long as you take care to avoid known problems with them.

It's a great loss

[50000BTU_barbecue]

The worst part is that Mr Pease was coming back from the funeral of Jim Williams, another analog great working at Linear Tech.

Re:It's a great loss

[jd]

Although rare, it is not unknown for someone to give up on life at the death of a close friend. It will never be possible to know what was in his mind, it's entirely likely it was just a very tragic accident, and it would be wrong to not mourn the loss of someone who was a friend to the community at large, but equally it would be wrong to assume that he didn't put the friendship at that high a value. That, of course, is the worst part of tragedies like this, we can never know his choices and therefore cannot know what it is we should be respecting.

Deep Loss

[MountainLogic]

Bob was a great educator of working EEs. His passing is a great loss for all of us.

Passing of two analog greats

[labnet]

Bob Pease and Jim Williams (who also died recently) were legends in analog electronics.
Bob was still an active contributor to many columns.
His last is here http://electronicdesign.com/article/analog-and-mixed-signal/What-s-All-This-Solo-Hiking-Stuff-Anyhow-.aspx

RIP Bob

Re:Passing of two analog greats

[tibit]

Yeah, talk about coincidences. They both died within a week of each other. Someone selected nice pictures of both of them.

Re:Passing of two analog greats

[Anonymous Coward]

Yikes! His last column talks about discounting risks while enjoying a favored activity. He dies days later while driving a crappy little death trap of a car while not wearing a seat belt.

At least you can't call him a hypocrite.

Re:Passing of two analog greats

[SydShamino]

How is it a coincidence? Bob Pease died while leaving Jim Williams' memorial service, which he was late for, presumably because he was distraught. While there's no proof (and may never be), there's certainly enough correlation that I can postulate a reasonable hypothesis of causation.

Re:Passing of two analog greats

[Anonymous Coward]

Was probably late because he was driving a shitty car with 50 hp.

Re:Passing of two analog greats

[IICV]

According to another post, Bob Pease actually died while driving back from Jim Williams' funeral. That's pretty sad.

(I was going to say "ironic" just to tweak the word usage Nazis, but this is too sad for such things)

Thanks Bob

[crisco]

I appreciate all the insight you lent me and the fact that you opened my eyes to a better way to troubleshoot and think about systems.

Re:Thanks Bob

[Anonymous Coward]

That, and he deserved to die.

God be praised.

Re:Who?

[tibit]

We don't know if he died "stupidly", whatever that may mean. For all I know he had stroke/heart attack and was unconscious when it was time to turn the steering wheel.

By the way, Bob was coming back from a memorial service for Jim Williams, another of analog circuit design great minds. He missed the end of the service by half an hour.

I'm getting drunk tonight in their memory. All I know in analog circuit design I've learned from my dad and them, I'd say they all share equal influence on me. Bob and Jim were great teachers, seriously down-to-Earth, no-bullshit guys.

So sad

[woboyle]

Bob will be missed. I have been reading his postings on EDN for many, many years (probably about 25 years now) and always found them interesting, informational, and often quite funny. The Silicon Valley and the industry has lost a real gentleman and guiding light.

Re:So sad

[gzuckier]

I figure he's up there right now, having a serious talk with God about some of His design flaws.

Re:wise guy

[Man On Pink Corner]

It wasn't vandalism. He did write such a book, which got decidedly mixed reviews. I haven't read it.

In this case the his driving (and seat belt) probably had nothing to do with it. He was 70, recently diagnosed with diabetes, and had just come back from a memorial for a good friend. He was most likely dead of a coronary event before his car left the road.

That is hard-core analog there

[damn_registrars]

I can't think of anything digital in a 69 Beetle. From the sounds of it I'd be surprised if he even had an AM radio in there.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[Anonymous Coward]

The trafficators are digital: on - off - on - off...

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[Anonymous Coward]

It had an AM radio, though why listen to it when you could be talking to Bob.

This may be the first time I wish I wasn't in China, I would have liked to have seen him one more time.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[smellsofbikes]

It didn't have a radio. (That I saw: I was looking over his shoulder.) The main reason he was so into it was precisely because he could fix everything on it -- and he did, too. He had a lot to say about why people shouldn't own anything they couldn't fix, and about how nice it was to be able to walk down to the corner auto shop and get most all the parts he needed to repair or replace anything on the Beetle.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[gmhowell]

It didn't have a radio. (That I saw: I was looking over his shoulder.) The main reason he was so into it was precisely because he could fix everything on it -- and he did, too. He had a lot to say about why people shouldn't own anything they couldn't fix, and about how nice it was to be able to walk down to the corner auto shop and get most all the parts he needed to repair or replace anything on the Beetle.

Sounds like his time was past if he couldn't own a car any more advanced than a 42 year old Beetle and be able to work on it.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[Anonymous Coward]

Or you have a different definition of "work on it". Replacing an EFI module does not count as "work" in the books of those who prefer to understand everything to (and beyond) the component level. It's not a matter of being able to understand what is in a more modern car, but having to put up with the layers of obfuscation. A typical engineer doesn't want to trust Toyota's engineers to get their stuff right. He wants to verify it for himself, by looking inside the system. Probably because engineers know the internal crap that a shiny facade on a product can hide.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[Anonymous Coward]

That's pretty cool and all but owning an old vehicle and driving it around is a bad idea. The technology that is put in today's cars compared to before is significant and the main reason why people don't die as often in a wreck. a '69 beetle is almost suicide.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[gmhowell]

Again, there are plenty of automobiles for which one can work on the entire circuit, custom program EEPROMs and various other activities. Hell, there are more advanced vehicles available that use vacuum and centrifugal advance for ignition timing and carbs for fuel metering. The VW Beetle is a quaint relic that should be relegated to the scrapheap.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[evilviper]

The main reason he was so into it was precisely because he could fix everything on it --and he did, too. He had a lot to say about why people shouldn't own anything they couldn't fix,

It's all a matter of degree, though, isn't it? There aren't many people out there who could design and machine their own carburetor from a block of steel, so A) you don't really understand it, and B) you can't really fix it, but only replace it. In both cases, you are no better off than you would be if the vehicle was electronically controlled. In fact you're worse off because it's unlikely your PCM will ever have a problem.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[Pentium100]

Designing something is harder than fixing it.

For example, designing a good audio amplifier is hard, but if a transistor (or capacitor) is bad, finding and replacing it is easier than designing the amp from scratch.

Same thing with a car. Some things cannot be fixed and need to be replaced, but electrical components (relays and such - my car (Mercedes W123 200) was made in 1982 so it does not have very complex electronics) can be fixed most of the time (unless the relay is worn out and there is hard to find). Replacing the bad module is the next step, but why replace, say, the fan speed control amplifier (expensive) in a Nissan Primera P12
(2003) if all the module needs is a much cheaper temp fuse or a most a MOSFET which is not as cheap as the fuse but stil much cheaper than the whole module (the amp is just the MOSFET, fuse, a couple of resistors, a small capacitor and a heatsink)..

As for the carburetor - you may only need to replace the bad part, not the whole unit.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[namgge]

Fuel pump failure:

My soln: Phone recovery service and wait calmly in nearby diner with a coffee and doughnut.

Bob Pease soln: Rip out gas tank, strap to roof, connect to engine via length of hose, seal with clips and gaffer tape, use gravity feed to replace pump. Go!

He was right out there in the tail of the distribution.

Namgge

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[tehcyder]

This may be the first time I wish I wasn't in China,

What, apart from eveery morning when you wake up and realise that you're in China?

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[tekrat]

You don't have to build a carb out of steel -- that's current car thinking, where they only way to fix it is to replace it -- carbs can be cleaned, rebuilt with a needle and gasket kit, and put back into service as if new. And unless it's filled up with gunk, carbs rarely fail.

From your entire post, I can tell you've never even looked at a carb -- anybody with half a brain can take one apart, clean and rebuild, and get it working again.

And if you think those electronically controlled cars are somehow better, just wait until they start rusting and sending the wrong voltages to the computer. Or your crank position sensor goes, stalling the car at every stop sign. I'd rather have a car that *I* can fix, than be a prisoner of the dealership.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[geekoid]

Carbs are incredibly inefficiency.

Electronically controlled is better. Not perfect, but a lot better in terms of reliability, efficiency, and diagnostics.

Yes, I could take a carb a apart and clean it while sitting outside a gas station in some podunk town and be on my way. Compared to a modern system, it's not worth it overall.
The only way the above scenario would happen to me is ig I was in a wet condition, or got silt into my system...things that would have less of an impact on a new system anyways.

Carbs are worse by every measure.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[GameboyRMH]

I have family that have driven around Beetles their whole lives, in conditions far more dangerous than anything you'll find in the US. They're not very safe, especially by today's standards, but it's nowhere near suicidal to drive one. If you don't drive them fast they'll stick to the road just fine.

I'd bet Bob Pease had a heart attack or something before he crashed.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[evilviper]

carbs can be cleaned, rebuilt with a needle and gasket kit, and put back into service as if new

My point wasn't that a carb can't be fixed. It's that it's design is as much a mystery to you as a PCM is. And if it really breaks, you're just as SOL as if it was the PCM that failed.

That a carb can be cleaned and rebuilt is NOT an advantage... it's a huge disadvantage that it develops such problems in the first place. PCMs are also easy to clean... Why haven't you ever cleaned one and put it back into service? The answer is obvious.

From your entire post, I can tell you've never even looked at a carb

You are oh-so-very wrong.

And if you think those electronically controlled cars are somehow better, just wait until they start rusting and sending the wrong voltages to the computer. Or your crank position sensor goes, stalling the car at every stop sign.

I've gone through all of that. Pre-1996, so I just grab a short piece of wire, jump pins 1&3 under the dash, count the number of flashes on the service engine light, and look-up the error in the manual (it's a couple pages, and pretty universal, so you could print it out, too). It reports exactly which sensor is not providing sane values. Usually something as simple as a wire pulled loose, shorted, corroded, etc. Usually around 15 minutes and I'm on my way. Post-1996 cars just require you keep a $30 code reader on-hand, instead of a paperclip.

If that makes you a "prisioner," the bar is pretty damn low...

I don't think PCMs are better... I know, unarguably, that they are. The entire industry switched over, for good reason. It's only that you insist on never learning anything new that you assume older is somehow better.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[dasunt]

It didn't have a radio. (That I saw: I was looking over his shoulder.) The main reason he was so into it was precisely because he could fix everything on it -- and he did, too. He had a lot to say about why people shouldn't own anything they couldn't fix

With OBDII, the electronics in a modern car aren't that bad to figure out.

Sure, I couldn't probably make the average car sensor from scratch, but I couldn't make a '69 VW Beetle's brake drum from a block of steel.

Re:That is hard-core analog there

[smellsofbikes]

It didn't have a radio. (That I saw: I was looking over his shoulder.) The main reason he was so into it was precisely because he could fix everything on it -- and he did, too. He had a lot to say about why people shouldn't own anything they couldn't fix

With OBDII, the electronics in a modern car aren't that bad to figure out.

Sure, I couldn't probably make the average car sensor from scratch, but I couldn't make a '69 VW Beetle's brake drum from a block of steel.

Not that this is particularly relevant but my car -- a 2002 Subaru -- has a whole raft of undocumented OBDII stuff. Sure, it has the standard data, but a bunch of information like shift data seems to be only accessible if you have a Subaru diagnostics system, which sort of sucks.

Brake drums are cast out of cast iron. Doing cast iron has been too exciting for me: I stick to cast aluminum (and sometimes, if there's a problem, bits of cast aluminum stick to me, hence my unwillingness to try iron) but machining a brake drum from a casting isn't all that difficult. Now, casting a vented brake rotor: that's a challenge. There are plenty of parts that are pretty infeasible to try to make at home, like a ground cam or a nitrided crankshaft, or even the excitement inherent in casting the flammable magnesium engine block on a VW, but those are all several orders of magnitude easier than making your own electronic engine control system from silicon.

One of my coworkers spent several hours chatting with Bob Pease about making fuel injection systems, last time Bob was visiting here, as it happens. My coworker had just finished adding one to his 1965 Jeep, that he'd machined most of the hardware for (although he'd purchased the fuel pump and injectors) and Bob was interested in some of the technical details of how it managed fuel/air ratios.

We will miss you, Bob

[byteherder]

Anyone who reads Electronic Design knows of Bob Pease. His column was the first thing you read, when you got the new edition. He was clever, witty and a brilliant engineer.

Bob, you will be sorely missed.

Coincidence?

[Hylandr]

Interesting... Was he hit by a Porsche 911 in the morning?

- Dan.

Pease Porridge

[hammarlund]

I always enjoyed his columns. He was down to earth and not afraid to call bullshit when needed. It's true, always read his column first. He'll be missed.

Lemmings use coax?

[Max Hyre]

I didn't think they needed the shielding.

Time to ban trees!!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

He ran into a tree. What the hell was that tree doing there?!?!? A goddamn tree!

It's time to get rid of this brown and green menace. The sooner the better. We need to act NOW, or soon this new threat will overrun our safe concrete and cement surfaces, or crack them from below. Our planet's safety is at stake here!

Re:Time to ban trees!!!!!

[PPH]

Bob was a great analog guy. What was he doing messing around with trees? Maybe he could have handled a simple linked list. But please, leave the trees to the CS people.

Re:Who?

[tuxicle]

What? Jim Williams too??? Who will write our humorous app notes with the doodles on the last page? :( A dark day indeed. Williams' application notes (and his tales of learning from fixing broken test equipment) are one of the reasons I'm a EE today.

Re:wise guy

[tuxicle]

He would also write about defensive driving on occasion in Pease Porridge, his column.

What's all this 'I'm dead stuff', anyhow?

[Anonymous Coward]

RIP, Bob.

How to Drive Into Accidents

[naroom]

Bob Pease is also the author of the book "How to drive into accidents - and how not to".

Re:How to Drive Into Accidents

[gmhowell]

Bob Pease is also the author of the book "How to drive into accidents - and how not to".

Those who can, do; those who can't...

Re:How to Drive Into Accidents

[GameboyRMH]

Those who can, do; those who can't...

Your credibility has been nullified for saying these awful words, in the same category as "if you're so smart how come you ain't rich" and worse than "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

A great author

[cstec]

I learned so much more from Bob's writing for a couple of bucks than I ever did in school in EE. It's not that school was 'wrong', just that they taught and followed rules, and Bob actually understood what they meant. A loss of one of engineering's finest talents - the guy that both knew it, and could explain it in English.

54 68 69 73 20 77 61 73 20 6e 6f 74 20 61 6e 20 61

[Anonymous Coward]

54-68-69-73-20-77-61-73-20-74-68-65-20-66-69-72-73-74-20-73-68-6f-74-20-69-6e-20-74-68-65-20-63-6f-6d-69-6e-67-20-64-69-67-69-74-61-6c-20-77-61-72-73-2e

57-65-20-77-69-6c-6c-20-6b-69-6c-6c-20-61-67-61-69-6e-2c-20-79-6f-75-20-66-75-6e-6e-79-20-6c-69-74-74-6c-65-20-61-6e-61-6c-6f-67-20-62-65-69-6e-67-73-21

41-6c-6c-20-79-6f-75-72-20-62-61-73-65-20-61-72-65-20-62-65-6c-6f-6e-67-20-74-6f-20-75-73-21

59-6f-75-20-68-61-76-65-20-6e-6f-20-63-68-61-6e-63-65-20-74-6f-20-73-75-72-76-69-76-65-20-6d-61-6b-65-20-79-6f-75-72-20-74-69-6d-65-21

01001111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101110 01100100 01101111 01101100 01100101 01101110 01100011 01100101 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01000010 01101111 01100010 00100000 01010000 01100101 01100001 01110011 01100101 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100110 01100001 01101101 01101001 01101100 01111001 00101110

he's not a negotiator.

[Anonymous Coward]

damn it jim! i'm a circuit designer, not a negotiator!

Rest in Pease

[crazyvas]

Rest in Pease, Bob.

Re:Who?

[HotNeedleOfInquiry]

Bob Pease was a living God in the field of analog circuit design. He designed a metric shit-ton of chips for National Semiconductor, wrote a regular column in Electronic Design magazine, and on top of all that, he was a damn fine individual, willing to talk to the most junior tech. He will be sorely missed by those of us that knew him and his work.

Re:Who?

[HotNeedleOfInquiry]

I'm raising my glass with you, brother. We lost two of the great old men of our craft.

Troubleshooting Analog Circuits

[jim_deane]

I had to go to my shelf to be sure, but yes...one of my favorite electronics books, Troubleshooting Analog Circuits, was penned by the talented Bob Pease. I always enjoyed the clever writing style and humor that came across in that wonderfully detailed book. I received it for a review many years ago, and after reading it decided it earned a place in my permanent library.

It is unfortunate that only now have I found his regular column ( http://electronicdesign.com/author/904/BobPease.aspx ). I will enjoy reading through the rest of them, but I will be quite sad to know that he is no longer around to write any more.

He seems like someone who would have been great to know in real life. Godspeed, Robert Pease.

seat belts are new; car is old

[bussdriver]

I have a 68 truck; seat belts didn't exist yet--- because they weren't required and they were too costly to add to cars! it took a big liberal conspiracy to get seat belts... dam commies trying to save lives with government overhead... ;-)

What terrible news

[Schafer]

Bob was one of the most clearheaded problem solvers out there, regardless of domain. When I was designing high-voltage CRT drivers, his books and columns were invaluable. When I moved on to digital, then FPGA system architecture, then management, again his thinking was almost always mappable in some way to the problems at hand.

When he wrote a self-published book on driving, _How to Drive Into Accidents and How Not To_, I bought and read that too (472 pages on driving).

For those that say Bob was not serious about seatbelts because he apparently was not wearing one, he talked in detail about how that Beetle had rotted belts, how he had purchased nylon webbing to repair them, and his difficulties in finding a good, robust way to sew them. He made the point that a seatbelt "holds you down firmly and helps you AVOID having an accident." [Bob's emphasis]

The man was not perfect, and I'm sure his actions did not always match his intent (did you ever see pictures of his desk? or the back seat of the Beetle?), but we've lost a great thinker, and he will be greatly missed.

Re:What terrible news

[Anonymous Coward]

It seems like you might not want to follow the advice in his driving book though...

Re:What terrible news

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed, actions do not always follow intent. He was distraught and upset, from all reports.

He was the inspiration for this Tech to make it to Engineer, which I've been doing for more than 10 years now; Analog guys are hard to find.

None of the digital guys here want to use calculus to solve day to day problems; their loss. :)

This is the passing of an era; he will be sorely missed.

Re:What terrible news

[geekoid]

In a 1969 Beetle, the difference between wearing a seatbelt and not wearing a seatbelt is that one makes it easier to find the body.

Seriously, that car is a death trap.

"News for Nerds"

[oldhack]

I've got my EE degree eons ago, but I've never heard of this guy, perhaps because I went into this crazy software business.

Regardless, a prominent (I assume) analog designer/educator passing away is tucked away (collapsed) while some bogus half-ass bullshit iWhatever "stories" get the full billing on the slashdot front page EVERY FUCKING DAY.

Let me just say, FUCK YOU TACO! FUCK YOU SLASHDOT.

Re:"News for Nerds"

[geekoid]

You know that's the results of the users and mods, right?

I mean, Taco is personally attacking you, so be sure to keep yelling.

Ryan Dunn

[cpscotti]

Sorry for the analog guy but why wasn't Ryan Dunn's death reported here too!!?

Re:Ryan Dunn

[tehcyder]

Sorry for the analog guy but why wasn't Ryan Dunn's death reported here too!!?

Because most of us have no idea who Ryan Dunn was? And now that I've had to Google him, I have even less idea of why you think his death would be relevant for this site. (No man is an island etc, I don't have anything against Mr Dunn, but his death s about as relevant to slashdot as that of an Albanian poet or Kenyan politician).

Re:Ryan Dunn

[GameboyRMH]

Because being a great analog engineer is more newsworthy and more relevant to geeks than being a human crash dummy.

Passing of a legend

[EmagGeek]

Bob has certainly left his mark on the analog world. I've attended a few of his seminars, and meeting him in person cannot leave one with any other impression than to know he was simply brilliant, and brilliantly simple. He saw things in ways none of us was ever taught to look at them.

He will be missed.

What's All This Dead Analog Guys Stuff, Anyhow?

[orudus]

Very, very sad news. I have been to a few of his lectures and can say that this man was an original. He presented with an overhead projector (the analog presentation method). I don't know what it is about the analog gurus, they seem to live a mildly tortured life. Bob Pease is my favorite, second only to Bob Widlar. That guys stories are so far out there. Pease did a writeup of some of his most memorable stuff... makes me wish I were there when it happened. I can only say that I am glad I met Pease in his time here on Earth... RIP my friend. http://www.national.com/rap/Story/widlar.html

Bob was a great guy

[cnaumann]

I loved his columns, I have many of his books. I wrote him several times (in the days before email!) with comments on his columns and he always wrote back. I went to see him talk when he has in town. I will miss him.

RIP, Bob.

[Anonymous Coward]

RIP, Bob. I enjoyed your column and the wisdom you imparted.

The 1969 beetle

[geekoid]

IS one of the most dangerous cars you can possible be driving.

He will be missed.

Re:54 68 69 73 20 77 61 73 20 6e 6f 74 20 61 6e 20

[broginator]

They set us up the bomb!

Re:Who?

[NeverVotedBush]

AC, your comment just shows you to be ignorant and possibly much more likely to die as you live - stupidly.

Bob Pease really was a great in the field of analog design (and I'm sure other areas). He knew intuitively what most probably take years or decades to pick up. He was a treasure trove of knowledge.

I join the others in raising a glass to his memory.

gmhowell: Your presence is requested

[Anonymous Coward]

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2251620&cid=36512016

gmhowell, step inside

[Anonymous Coward]

Go here, & decide http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2251620&cid=36512016

gmhowell, a proposal

[Anonymous Coward]

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2251620&cid=36512016

Re:Who?

[camperslo]

Yes, it is appropriate for us to remember these men, and others that went before them, like Bob Widlar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Widlar

Vacuum assist car parts existed 4 ages

[Anonymous Coward]

Not for just advanced ones as you said. See here http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=%22brakes%22+and+%22vacuum+assist%22&btnG=Google+Search and learn what you're talking about. That's only a single example. Doesn't sound like you've ever worked on a car yourself, and people that talk shit but don't know what they're talking about are bogus. You've just shown you're a classic case.

Re:Vacuum assist car parts existed 4 ages

[gmhowell]

WTF are you on about? Your link doesn't back up what you seem to be implying, and except for some racers and professional mechanics, I've probably worked on more cars, trucks, tractors, and motorcycles than 99% of the people on Slashdot.

DieD

[AP31R0N]

He died. Once, past tense.

Hamlet dies. Real people just die once (usually), not habitually or regularly.

do not worry.

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Eulogy for Bob in Electronic Design News

[jenningsthecat]

For those interested, here's a link to an EDN article, written by an engineer who worked with him:

http://www.edn.com/article/518568-Analog_engineering_legend_Bob_Pease_killed_in_car_crash.php