A hundred years ago, if your radio battery was dead, you could get it charged by phone, kind of. You could call before 10:00 AM, the service station would come and pick it up, and you would have it back in time to pull in the DX that evening.

The ad appeared in the Washington Evening Star, May 25, 1924, and the service was offered by Smith’s, 2119 18th St. NW, Washington, DC.