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ARLX011 Past ARRL Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI (SK)

ZCZC AX11
QST de W1AW  
Special Bulletin 11  ARLX011
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  December 2, 2019
To all radio amateurs 

SB SPCL ARL ARLX011
ARLX011 Past ARRL Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI (SK)

A titan of Amateur Radio, past ARRL Chief Technology Officer Paul L.
Rinaldo, W4RI, of Burke, Virginia, died on November 29 after a
period of failing health. An ARRL Life Member, Rinaldo was 88.

"This is really sad news," ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR,
remarked upon learning of Rinaldo's passing. "I worked with Paul on
a number of things, and he amazed me with his knowledge and the
different ways to consider issues. Smart. Highly respected. He sure
helped us through the years in so many ways."

First licensed in 1949 as W9IZA (he also held W3FFH and K4YKB over
the years), Rinaldo's focus was always in the arena of technical
experimentation. He studied radio engineering at Valparaiso
Technical Institute in Indiana. Rinaldo was a cofounder and served
as president of the Amateur Radio Research and Development
Corporation (AMRAD). His first association with ARRL was an article,
"Amateur Radio in the Computer Age," for the September 1979 edition
of QST. Subsequently, he served in volunteer roles, among them as
the first editor of QEX: The ARRL Experimenters' Exchange.

In 1983, Rinaldo succeeded Doug DeMaw, W1FB, as ARRL Technical
Department Manager and Senior Technical Editor. His efforts led to
his appointment as Publications Manager and, 5 years later, as
Manager of Technical Development with responsibility for preparing
for the 1992 World Administrative Radio Conference. This led to
Rinaldo's supporting role in the International Amateur Radio Union
(IARU), and he attended IARU Administrative Council (AC) meetings
from 1996 to 2008, serving on several occasions as recording
secretary.

"Paul's presence at the AC meetings was never simply clerical and
was primarily to allow the AC to tap his unique expertise," IARU
Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, noted. Rinaldo also took part in
several International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conferences and
served on numerous working parties and task groups. Sumner said
amateur radio's successes at the just-ended WRC-19 were, in large
part, because of Rinaldo's good work over the years.

In 1992, Rinaldo established ARRL's Technical Relations Office in
the Washington, DC, area, which expanded as preparations for World
Radiocommunication Conferences became an ongoing need. In 2004, the
ARRL Board of Directors elected Rinaldo as ARRL's first Chief
Technology Officer, a post he held until his retirement in 2008.
"For the past 16 years, Paul has been the face and voice of amateur
radio in the technical circles of the federal government and one of
our most visible representatives at the ITU," Sumner said at the
time.

"We all had enormous respect for Paul and what he brought to IARU,"
IARU Region 1 President Don Beattie, G3BJ, commented. "People with
his breadth of knowledge and experience, and the ability to apply it
in a sensitive way, are all too rare."

Rinaldo was a board member of the United States ITU Association and
a Life Senior Member of the IEEE. He also served on the IEEE-USA
Committee on Communications Policy.

Murphy Funeral Homes of Falls Church, Virginia, is handling
arrangements.
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