 Guglielmo Marconi pioneered the use of short wave radio for long-distance transmissions in the early 1920s.Using a system of parabolic reflector antennae, Marconi's assistant, Charles Samuel Franklin, rigged up a large antenna at Poldhu Wireless Station, Cornwall, running on 25 kW of power.In June and July 1923, wireless transmissions were completed during nights on 97 meters from Poldhu to Marconi's yacht "Elettra" in the Cape Verde Islands.