English: A spark gap radio transmitter invented by radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi in 1895 and patented 1896 (US patent 586193, G. Marconi, Transmitting electrical signals, filed 7 December 1896, granted 13 July 1897) during his development of the first long-range radiotelegraphy communication system. It is a modification of Heinrich Hertz's dipole transmitter to give greater range. The 3 spark gaps in series were called a Righi spark gap. Marconi's innovation is the addition of "capacity areas" (r), two large metal sheets to add capacitance to the antenna, so it will store more charge, increasing the output power. It was not commercially successful; the range of the transmitter was still less than one-half mile, but it established the important principle that increasing the capacitance of the antenna increased the range.