I can't stand it! Hit one of those buttonsFriday, August 6, 1999 By RAYMOND A. EDEL It is tough for me to admit this, but I might have RRPPS. Rapid radio preset pushing syndrome. Worried that I was alone in my ever-changing world, I took it upon myself to take an informal unscientific poll. I asked 20 people 10 questions to determine whether I am afflicted with RRPPS or a typical card-carrying member of the preset pushing public. Here are the questions I asked, followed by the results. Do you know what a preset is and do you know how to work the presets in your car? Nineteen out of 20 knew that presets are the little buttons on your car radio that allow you to set and change stations quickly. Sixteen people knew how to work their presets. How many presets do you have? The number of presets ranged from three to 18 (lucky dogs). I have 10. A good start. Are there any functions in your car that you do not know how to operate? This question was asked to see if any of the subjects were technophobes. Eight said no. Twelve said yes, including not knowing how to change a tire, use the cruise control, tilt the steering wheel, or how to get the "clean tape" light off. How long (time-wise) is your commute and on a typical workday morning, how often do you change the radio station in your car? The average commute time came out to 25 minutes. Mine was 30 minutes. Very good, but the next part was crucial. The average number of station changes during the commute was 14.75. Mine was above the norm at 20. I'm in good shape. What is the main reason you change the channel? Six people said it was because of advertisements, four people said an annoying song forces them to switch, two people said DJ babble is the No. 1 reason, and four said "all of the above." I fall into the "all-of-the-above" category. Uh-oh. Do you have a scan-for-station (stops at first station) function? Do you use it often? A mixed response here, most (17) have the function, but only six use it often and four use it when they are really bored. I get bored a lot. Is there a "special" order that your presets are in? (Example: WCBS-AM (880) or WINS-AM (1010) might be closer to you ... so you can get traffic updates quicker, or maybe it is in numerical order by frequency -- WBGO-FM (88.3) followed by WXRK-FM (92.3). The subjects polled were split down the middle on this issue. Ten had an arrangement -- from numerical and by format to putting their favorites closest to them. Ten did not. OK, I'm anal, so my presets are in ascending numerical order from left to right. I'm getting concerned. How often do you update your presets? Six respondents said they never update, four said they have updated only when the battery has died, three noted they change their presets only if a station format changes, and five said they'll change them "every so often." From time to time I will reset mine, but then again I have the attention span of a flea. Do you feel comfortable playing with someone else's presets? The overwhelming response was no, 18-2. As one person put it, "I don't want anyone touching mine, so I won't touch theirs." I'll touch others, but ask permission first. I'm in trouble. Would you admit to having rapid radio preset pushing syndrome? The consensus was that no one has it. No catharsis from those 20, but a catharsis from me. I admit ... I have RRPPS, but since I write a radio column and it's my job to listen to as many stations as I can -- either I should move on to the next column or seek medical insurance to pay for my new multichannel multipreset car stereo.
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