is this a real futaba controler?
It would be a knockoff. ALL Futaba R/C transmitters say "FUTABA" on them very plainly. They do not have a manufacturing plant in China, as far as we know.
A Tower Hobbies transmitter would also say "Tower Hobbies" prominently.
If the transmitter is a 40 MHz unit, it's not likely it can be converted to 72 MHz. There are too many circuit differences with that large a band change.