WSQT, the Squat is guerrilla radio broadcasting from the heart of occupied Washington. Our signal is not very strong, concealed AM antennas being what they are, but can be received mostly north of R st to about Harvard Street, from the Dupont Circle area east. This is coverage for an ordinary portable radio, futzing with it for best reception but without anything more than the radio and my body..

Our shows run the gamut of progressive themes, with urban and poverty issues taking the lead. If you have material you want to put on the air, feel free to contact us at WSQTradio (at) ziplip.com. We welcome material from activists and community groups throughout the city. The more material we get, the more we can broadcast. Also, please contact us first if you ever get interference from us over any other station or radio service. If we ever get any such reports we will find and fix the problems.

We ourselves have had trouble with the interfering leftover "carriers" on every AM channel that are too far away to receive any audio from them but make a whistle with another weak signal-even if it's perfectly on channel it can sometimes whistle with the next signal 10 KHZ away. Another source of severe but local interference to weak AM stations is some street lights and traffic lights, of all things.

In some places our signal is quite good, but can be quite weak(on the analog tuned AM clock radio tested) just a few hundred feet away from a strong area. This is true throughout the coverage area.

There are a number of ways to improve reception of any weak signal AM station, including WSQT. First of all, check the highest parts of your house or office, as signal is usually but not always strongest up high. Second, if the noise on your receiver ques quite at 1620, you have the signal-turn up the volume until you hear the audio.

We keep the audio as close to 100% at the station as we can without going over, but commercial signals are heavily processed and the stations are much stronger. You will not get the same volume from a weak AM station as a strong one. The true limit to receiving any signal is when you tune it in, turn up the volume, but the static and noise come up before the audio. Radio engineers call this point the "noise floor" and it is a measure of "signal-to-noise ratio," which determines listenability.

Keep in mind that internal AM antennas are directional. Try turning your receiver until you get the strongest signal. In some places this will have no effect, and in others it makes a world of difference. Try turning it in both the horizontal and vertical planes, as in some places the signal will come from a reflection off a building(or an outright "sky wave"). I was amazed at how many different directions it seemed to come from, sometimes pointing at the transmitter and sometimes not.

The bigger the internal "loopstick" AM antenna(not the telescoping FM antenna), the better your receiver will work. A digital one with a crystal filter will also help a lot unless it is a very cheap one with little weak-signal sensitivity. Still,in the "good" places almost any receiver will work that is not blocked by the strong signal on 1580.

If you have trouble getting WSQT or another weak AM station but have a stereo with an external AM antenna connection, a full size AM antenna can make a world of difference. To do this, measure out 150 feet of wire, and string it from the connector,out a window to a tree, a pole, a roof, anything up high. For receiving one station only, try different directions unless you can get the first 15-20 feet vertical, in which case it will not matter. This antenna will also work indoors with 20 feet up a staircase, then wound around the attic or top floor walls. It will turn a weak but receivable signal into a strong one. Remember, you don't have to worry about hiding a receiving antenna.

All these things work with any weak AM signal, and at night you can receive the biggest AM stations (like WTOP) sometimes up to 1,000 miles away with a good receiver, a good antenna, sometimes with any antenna, and careful tuning if it is an analog set. I have personally heard signals from Chicago and Florida this way.