How many people here have heard of BOB WIDLAR and have any personal experiences to tell ?
Hint: LM709
Tho Bob is long gone, I think that many of us can BS a bit for entertainment, and would like to propose this thread.
I doubt that the youngsters know what I am talking about, but would probably like to know something of electronic design history.
Andy
If you've been lurking around here for any time at all you'd know I've posted several personal items in the past few months. Do some surfing.
...Jim Thompson
Ahem, hint, not LM709, uA709. And LM301A, LM10, etc., etc.
I met his then-girlfriend at the bar at the Washington Square Bar and Grille in San Francisco, while they were living in Puerta Viallarta (sp?); she was back in town to visit friends or something. He was paranoid about his designs; kept the drawings under the tablecloth on the kitchen table, and wouldn't work on things while she was in the house.
She said he was real nice, but drank too much. She was surprised that I'd heard of him, had no idea that he was a legend.
John
I've
Andy replies:
No, I haven't been lurking here long. Perhaps I will surf for things about him if I develop an interest in it.....Thanks for the tip.
Anyway, I met Bob back in about '68 or so when he was giving a talk about voltage regulators at a country club in Ft. Lauderdale.
I was designing communications stuff at that time, and was not impressed by voltage regulators ( my big mistake), as as I was seated at a table with him, I (after a few beers) suggested that anyone who would waste time on voltage regulators when there were communications ICs to design was nothing but a "technical prostitute".
Bob had a few drinks in him ( actually he was too drunk to stand anymore) and immediately put his arm on the table as a challenge for me to arm wrestle and settle our diffences then and there...... .... Seemed a good idea at the time....
I beat him with my right arm, ... and then... with my left arm.... Bob wasn't happy about being beaten at anything, but fair was fair, and we settled down a bit and talked for a while after that......I don't remember much about what happened after that, but I was able to show up for work the next day.......
Regarding the '709 ----- the other poster was right. He made his bones at Fairchild before he went to National...... Some of you might remember Fairchild Semiconductor. They went out of business, or were bought up, a long time ago.....I still have a few ua709s lying around......
I bet many have heard the "goat story" and the one about the "axe in his office"......so I am surprised they haven't been posted. ... or perhaps I just haven't seen them.....
Alas, Bob died of a heart attack 6 or 7 years ago (I forget exactly) while jogging on the beach in Jalisco, I think it was....
I suspect that a lot of people think he was a real son of a bitch. He may have been, but he was still a pioneer, and a real colorful character, to boot...
Andy
It was in '91 (14 years ago!).
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
Try 14 years ago... he died February 27, 1991, at age 53.
...Jim Thompson
-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |
It was at the original Fairchild, and the part name was -->uA709
Are you talking about the inventor of the Widlar current mirror? If yes, I've heard about him :-)
I just found a website where Bob Pease tells a bunch of stories about Widlar. If anyone is interested, here it is:
Andy
I just found a website where Bob Pease tells a bunch of stories about Widlar. If anyone is interested, here it is:
Andy
Andy, You have a posting and/or stuttering problem... duplicate posts.
...Jim Thompson
-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |
Amusing. A long-time friend of mine is Jim Dunkley... worked with him at Motorola and on several custom jobs, and he served as my Treasurer when my wife and I were TPA Co-Presidents at Cocopah Elementary School, in Scottsdale.
I'll have to check out the fountain thing... I hadn't heard that one before ;-)
...Jim Thompson
ISTR that several of Pease's columns have mentions of Bob Wildar, likely things not included in the above page. I recall the verb Wildarize (destroying a bad component on an anvil so it won't show up in another circuit to haunt someone), but don't see it there.
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Looks like it was Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory:
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A small quote from the National link above, "Then he would calmly, methodically beat it with a hammer until the smallest remaining part was indistinguishable from the dust on the floor."
So I'm puzzled why you think "Widlarize" wasn't in there. Maybe you searched for it with the spelling from your post?
There you misspelled it again, note the position of your ell.
Right after the p-trap ;-)
...Jim Thompson
Yes, I searched for the word rather than reading through the article, and I recall Pease using the word Wildarize for that very action.
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