transmitter is less costly than a wireless telephone transmitter and
it is a very good scheme for you to learn to send and receive
telegraphic messages.

At the present time, however, there are fifteen amateur receiving
stations in the United States to every sending station, so you can see
that the majority of wireless folks care more for listening in to the
broadcasting of news and music than to sending out messages on their
own account. The easiest way to begin wireless, then, is to put up an
aerial and hook up a receiving set to it.

About Aerial Wire Systems.--To the beginner who wants to install a
wireless station the aerial wire system usually looms up as the
biggest obstacle of all, and especially is this true if his house is
without a flag pole, or other elevation from which the aerial wire can
be conveniently suspended.

If you live in the congested part of a big city where there are no
yards and, particularly, if you live in a flat building or an
apartment house, you will have to string your aerial wire on the roof,
and to do this you should get the owner's, or agent's, permission.
This is usually an easy thing to do where you only intend to receive
messages, for one or two thin wires supported at either end of the
building are all that are needed. If for any reason you cannot put
your aerial on the roof then run a wire along the building outside of
your apartment, and, finally, if this is not feasible, connect your
receiver to a wire strung up in your room, or even to an iron or a
brass bed, and you can still get the near-by stations.

An important part of the aerial wire system is the _ground_, that is,