I don't know why I typed 106.1 for KFRC. It's 106.9.
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Car Radio Button Questions for David and Others
- Thread starter Steve Green NEPA
- Start date
My older car stereo is dead and the one in the car I drive now never worked. I take a portable with me. Works as well, really. I have the presets set to varying frequencies, but I listen to KTTH 770 (conservative talk), KJR AM 950 (Sports), KIRO 710 Sports, and on FM one preset is KUOW 94.9 (NPR) KIRO 97.3 (News-talk), KJR-FM 93.9 (Sports), and KISW 99.9 (Rock).
I don't usually listen to music on the radio except for KISW's HD2, which is the metal channel. Lately I gravitate to KJR-AM Sports, as it's a national sports channel and I find the national sports shows more interesting than the local ones, and it's more interesting than political blather on either the conservative talker (KTTH) or the middle of the road talker (KIRO-FM) and NPR is just for news at night.
As one can tell, the other presets on each band are junk channels or unused. In 2012 I'd have one or two FM ones dedicated to the local CHR/pop stations, but now those are unused.
As for positioning of the buttons, I always set them to where the frequencies were located on the dial. Low to high.
I don't usually listen to music on the radio except for KISW's HD2, which is the metal channel. Lately I gravitate to KJR-AM Sports, as it's a national sports channel and I find the national sports shows more interesting than the local ones, and it's more interesting than political blather on either the conservative talker (KTTH) or the middle of the road talker (KIRO-FM) and NPR is just for news at night.
As one can tell, the other presets on each band are junk channels or unused. In 2012 I'd have one or two FM ones dedicated to the local CHR/pop stations, but now those are unused.
As for positioning of the buttons, I always set them to where the frequencies were located on the dial. Low to high.
The only time I used all the buttons on my cars AM only radio was in the NYC area in the late 60's . . . there were five buttons . . . 570 WMCA ( Top 40 ), 770 WABC ( Top 40 ) , 1430 WNJR ( R&B ) , 1520 WKBW ( heard at night only, Top 40 ) ) and 1600 WWRL (R&B).
After that the most buttons in the SF Bay Area ( 70's to 2000's ) I used when I lived there were about 4 on AM, when I got FM maybe add 3 or 4 more buttons ( out of 5 for each band ).
Today's car radios, my car too are "alittle ridiculous", there is way too much choice to do to just to get to listening to music on the radio.
I have XM/Sirius and stay with the 50's -80's channels so I use 99% of the time just 4 , they use presets . . . via touchscreen and actual buttons below the screen.
On AM where I am now just 2 on AM for music and 4 on FM for music. ( 50's - 80's, RnR )
Touch screens in cars are abit ridiculous too . . . think about it.
When I had just 5 buttons I knew by feel what button I was pressing, try doing that using the touch screen only.
The people that develop this stuff never "think" about it" . . . they just try to give you more & more stuff . . . that in many cases you'll hardly use. They give it to you only because they can and its cheap too, they never ask . . . will the person really use it?
Al
After that the most buttons in the SF Bay Area ( 70's to 2000's ) I used when I lived there were about 4 on AM, when I got FM maybe add 3 or 4 more buttons ( out of 5 for each band ).
Today's car radios, my car too are "alittle ridiculous", there is way too much choice to do to just to get to listening to music on the radio.
I have XM/Sirius and stay with the 50's -80's channels so I use 99% of the time just 4 , they use presets . . . via touchscreen and actual buttons below the screen.
On AM where I am now just 2 on AM for music and 4 on FM for music. ( 50's - 80's, RnR )
Touch screens in cars are abit ridiculous too . . . think about it.
When I had just 5 buttons I knew by feel what button I was pressing, try doing that using the touch screen only.
The people that develop this stuff never "think" about it" . . . they just try to give you more & more stuff . . . that in many cases you'll hardly use. They give it to you only because they can and its cheap too, they never ask . . . will the person really use it?
Al
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Touch screens are terrible for the user while driving. I sometimes drive a relative's 2019 Toyota with an all-singing all-dancing DAB+/FM/Bluetooth "entertainment system" with a touch screen, and it's almost impossible to find a preset without taking your eyes off the road, which is obviously an issue.
On my slightly older car with push-buttons, I can pretty much hit the right button without looking if need be. I can hit button 1 and know I'll get BBC Radio 1, in my view the best CHR in the world right now.
On my slightly older car with push-buttons, I can pretty much hit the right button without looking if need be. I can hit button 1 and know I'll get BBC Radio 1, in my view the best CHR in the world right now.
Mazdas have great reception, but are difficult to operate while driving. I put HD-1's side by side. For example, 106.7 HD2, 106.7 HD1, 105.1 HD-1, 105.1 HD-2. It takes a moment to catch the HD signal. When you change once it locks onto 106.7 HD-2 you can rapidly click the following 2 stations in that order. Very different from surfing analog FM.
My previous few cars had 6 AM saves and 12 FM saves. Now it's a 40-total AM/FM/XM deal.
My AMs are still the same (I'm near Chicago): 670-720-780-1000-1340-620. That was the batting order on the old cars; now it's by frequency. Of the 12 FMs, all were Chicago area, three in the 88-92 zone (including the radio station at my old college, which came on the air after I left the building, upgrading from the carrier-current system), the rest 92-108, more in order of preference than AM.
Of the current 40, it's 6 AM, about 9 FM (including three HD2s) and the rest XM.
Unless I'm going to a non-preset frequency, I change stations via the up-down toggle on the steering wheel. It's a small reach to go to the touch screen so that doesn't happen in traffic.
My AMs are still the same (I'm near Chicago): 670-720-780-1000-1340-620. That was the batting order on the old cars; now it's by frequency. Of the 12 FMs, all were Chicago area, three in the 88-92 zone (including the radio station at my old college, which came on the air after I left the building, upgrading from the carrier-current system), the rest 92-108, more in order of preference than AM.
Of the current 40, it's 6 AM, about 9 FM (including three HD2s) and the rest XM.
Unless I'm going to a non-preset frequency, I change stations via the up-down toggle on the steering wheel. It's a small reach to go to the touch screen so that doesn't happen in traffic.
I'll second the comments about the touch screens. I use only the toggle on the steering wheel while driving. I know the car company (at least their legal department) knows how bad touch screens are since they make me agree to a disclaimer about not using it while driving before I do anything.
As for presets, our Kia has separate presets for SiriusXM, AM, and FM. My wife and I have our XM presets organized by 1)channels we agree on, 2)channels only I listen to. My wife never listens to anything but SXM and the local NPR. On AM, my presets are KBME 790 (Astros games)...and the rest are spread across the dial to facilitate DXing. I have listened to AM music stations in Australia when out of range of FMs, but otherwise haven't listened to AM for anything other than DXing and play by play in years.
As for presets, our Kia has separate presets for SiriusXM, AM, and FM. My wife and I have our XM presets organized by 1)channels we agree on, 2)channels only I listen to. My wife never listens to anything but SXM and the local NPR. On AM, my presets are KBME 790 (Astros games)...and the rest are spread across the dial to facilitate DXing. I have listened to AM music stations in Australia when out of range of FMs, but otherwise haven't listened to AM for anything other than DXing and play by play in years.
Here's my lineup. I have an older car that doesn't include HD stations. I live in San Diego and both AM stations I listen to are from LA. KFI 640 - Not quite totally Right Wing Talk, KNX 1070 - All News. Other AM presets are 600, 760, 1090, & 1360. All the FM presets are local SD or TJ except the last one from Tecate with a weak signal. My FM presets are KPBS 89.5 - Public Radio, 91X 91.1 Classic Alternative , Magic 92 92.5 Classic Rhythmic, KHTS 93.3 CHR, KMYC 94.1 AC, KBZT 94.9 - Alternative/Pop, KYXY 96.5 AC, Sunny 98.1 - Classic Hits, 100.7 Big FM - Classic Hits, KGB 101.5 - Classic Rock, Rock 105.3, & 105.3 Willy FM - Classic Alternative
I still do the push buttons sequentially....a habit from the old analog days....in the Saratoga/Albany NY area...
FM 1-
91.5-WRPI-College
101.7-WNYQ-Classic Rock
102.7-WEQX-Alternative Rock
104.9-WINU-Alternative Rock
105.7-WQBK-Classic Rock
106.5-WPYX-Classic Rock
FM2-
91.1-WSPN-College
92.7-WGFR-College
93.1-WWSC-Classic Rock
97.7-WEXT-AAA
103.5-WQSH-Classic Rock
106.1-WEXT-AAA
AM-
880-WCBS
1010-WINS
1030-WBZ
1130-WBBR
I find the local AM stations to be unlistenable...
FM 1-
91.5-WRPI-College
101.7-WNYQ-Classic Rock
102.7-WEQX-Alternative Rock
104.9-WINU-Alternative Rock
105.7-WQBK-Classic Rock
106.5-WPYX-Classic Rock
FM2-
91.1-WSPN-College
92.7-WGFR-College
93.1-WWSC-Classic Rock
97.7-WEXT-AAA
103.5-WQSH-Classic Rock
106.1-WEXT-AAA
AM-
880-WCBS
1010-WINS
1030-WBZ
1130-WBBR
I find the local AM stations to be unlistenable...
Cool....My retro presets from 1974....Boston area....
680-WRKO-Top 40
740-WCAS-Folk Rock/Progressive Rock
1260-WEZE-Oldies/Top 40
1510-WMEX-Top 40
1550-WNTN-Progressive Rock
Here are the strangest presets from 1968:
The next year, we added 660 Ecos de la Montaña, news and sports. That made four of the five AM buttons and all the FM ones for my stations.
The final AM button went for whichever AM was annoying me at the time.
The next year, we added 660 Ecos de la Montaña, news and sports. That made four of the five AM buttons and all the FM ones for my stations.
The final AM button went for whichever AM was annoying me at the time.
I had the pleasure of driving a recent Toyota which had - I think - forty presets, each of which could be programmed for any AM or FM frequency, HD subchannel, or SXM channel...brilliant!
By chronological, do you mean the order in which the stations came on the air?
The oldest radio I have, a Westinghouse table radio from 1938, has an interesting preset history. It has five presets, with separate oscillator and antenna adjustments. The presets only cover part of the band, so some adjustments had to be made. The radio went up to 1720 kHz to receive the old Police Band, and had Shortwave from 5.9 to 18 MHz. Used to listen to WNYW countdown on 15440 kHz.
Pre NARBA:
WJR 750
WWJ 920
CKLW 1030
WFDF 1310
WBCM 1410
Post NARBA:
WJR 760
CKLW 800
WFDF 910
WWJ 950
WCAR 1130
At some point, the 5th preset was changed from WBCM to WCAR. The tab still said WBCM, which confused me for a long time.
Some Call Letter Tabs had to be replaced with typed new ones. CKLW moving from 1030 to 800 and WFDF moving from 1310 to 910 were the reason.
Pre NARBA:
WJR 750
WWJ 920
CKLW 1030
WFDF 1310
WBCM 1410
Post NARBA:
WJR 760
CKLW 800
WFDF 910
WWJ 950
WCAR 1130
At some point, the 5th preset was changed from WBCM to WCAR. The tab still said WBCM, which confused me for a long time.
Some Call Letter Tabs had to be replaced with typed new ones. CKLW moving from 1030 to 800 and WFDF moving from 1310 to 910 were the reason.
Awesome!
I think the word I was trying to come up with was numerical order, LOL. Although, that sounds like a fun project for me sometime!
An intriguing post; I thought I would compare Canyon Lake, TX in 2022 vs 1983. The AM’s are very similar and the FM’s definitely represent a bygone era:
2022 AM:
1) KTSA -550 - News/Talk.
2) KLBJ - 590 - News/Talk
3) KKYX- 680 - Classic Country
4) KTKR - 760 - Sports
5) KLUP - 930 - Talk
6) WOAI- 1200 - News Talk
FM:
1) KLBJ - 93.7 - Classic Rock
2) KISS. - 99.5 - Rock
3) KONO - 101.1 - Classic Hits
4) KJXK - 102.7 - Adult Hits
5) KBPA - 103.5 - Adult Hits
6) KTKX- 106.7 - Classic Rock
1983 (from my beloved 1982 Trans Am)
AM
1) KTSA-550 -Top 40
2) KLBJ - 590- News Talk
3) KKYX - 680 - Country
4) KONO - 860 -AC
5) WOAI -1200 - News Talk
FM
1) KLBJ-93.7 - AOR
2) KSRR- 96.5 - AOR (Houston ducting happened a lot)
3) KISS- 99.5 - AOR
4) KLOL- 101.1 - AOR (More Houston ducting)
5) KXZL- 104.5 -AOR
2022 AM:
1) KTSA -550 - News/Talk.
2) KLBJ - 590 - News/Talk
3) KKYX- 680 - Classic Country
4) KTKR - 760 - Sports
5) KLUP - 930 - Talk
6) WOAI- 1200 - News Talk
FM:
1) KLBJ - 93.7 - Classic Rock
2) KISS. - 99.5 - Rock
3) KONO - 101.1 - Classic Hits
4) KJXK - 102.7 - Adult Hits
5) KBPA - 103.5 - Adult Hits
6) KTKX- 106.7 - Classic Rock
1983 (from my beloved 1982 Trans Am)
AM
1) KTSA-550 -Top 40
2) KLBJ - 590- News Talk
3) KKYX - 680 - Country
4) KONO - 860 -AC
5) WOAI -1200 - News Talk
FM
1) KLBJ-93.7 - AOR
2) KSRR- 96.5 - AOR (Houston ducting happened a lot)
3) KISS- 99.5 - AOR
4) KLOL- 101.1 - AOR (More Houston ducting)
5) KXZL- 104.5 -AOR
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