In Memory of Bill Roth (Goeytex)

Anobium

Senior Member
Veteran • Engineer • Educator • Quiet Architect of Embedded Systems died today.

Bill Roth—known to many as Goeytex—was one of the most quietly influential engineers in the embedded systems world. Over more than two decades, he shaped the tools, libraries, and practices that many rely on today. He was a veteran, a mentor, and a master of his craft. But above all, he was a builder—of solutions, of communities, and of understanding.

Legacy Highlights:

  • 🧠 Years of Contributions Bill provided insights and countless improvements—many too subtle or deep to list. He resolved issues with 100% precision, wrote full analysis reports, and never stopped until the solution was elegant and robust.
  • 🐣 Builder of Chicken Egg Incubators Bill quietly built incubators—devices that maintain the perfect conditions for life to emerge. That was Bill in spirit: he created environments where ideas could hatch, grow, and thrive.
  • 🔧 PICAXE, GCBASIC, LTSpice, and TheBackShed His work spanned simulation, hardware, and education. On forums like TheBackShed, he was a steady, generous presence—always ready to help, never seeking credit.
  • 📚 Educator at Heart Bill’s annotated code, documentation, and forum posts were models of clarity. He made complex ideas accessible and helped others grow through his insights.
Personal Reflection: I knew Bill for a long time. He was one of the greatest engineers I’ve ever met—not just for his technical brilliance, but for his integrity and humility. He never wanted recognition, but I insisted his work be attributed to him. Because it mattered. Because he mattered.

Closing: The benefits to the community are his legacy. His name will live on in the solutions, the demonstration programs, the libraries, and the snippets.

Rest well, Goeytex. You showed us what it means to care deeply, think clearly, and build things that last.
 
OMG so sad to hear this. Goeytex was my personal forum hero, a very thoughtful, creative and prolific contributor. He was a treasure and the world has lost a tech genius. I knew he had some vision challenges several years ago yet he stayed active and always replied to PMs. I have lost track of how many Goeytex-designed USB cables I have built, and as mentioned above the forum is full of his posts and contributions.

Nice to read some of his background above. He will be missed but will live on here through his comments and fantastic interactions. RIP Goeytex.
 
A sad moment in the history of this forum. A knowledgable and generous contributor in this field and will be missed in all corners of the world.
 
Goeytex posts were always worth a careful read as they were insightful and to the point. The forum will miss him. RIP Goeytex and condolences to his family and friends
 
Sad to hear this too. A smart, patient engineer who leaves a generous legacy.

About three years ago, Erco and I collaborated on a PCB of his CH340 design. It's been incredibly useful.

CH340 Serial Rev. C.jpg
 
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