The importance of a good ground can’t be over-emphasized, as shown by this radio hobbyist a hundred years ago. Being located near water is always a plus, and a large electrode of cast iron was readily available. Dinner will just have to wait, since it sounds like he’s pulling in an important signal.

The illustration appeared a hundred years ago this month in the September 1921 issue of Radio News. The artist was Howard V. Brown, (1878-1945), and the scene probably came to life at his studio at 131 West 23rd Street in New York.