All the manufacturers turn out good radios. My preference is Airtronics. I have an RDS-8000 which is a good 8 ch 2.4 radio. I now use a SD-10G for my main and use the RDS as a back-up. If I were to go to another radio I would most likely either use a Futaba 8FG super or a 12SG. Having said all that a trip to the local field to find what everyone uses is a good idea. I would pick the radio that felt right to me then I would look for my own way of buddy boxing it so that I would own my set up and would not have to be locked into waiting for a certain person to show up. These are just my thoughts.