Go to the local field and see what people are using. You are going to want somebody to buddy box with and if you buy brand x and everybody has brand y... You may be screwed.. I gave several of my old 72 transmitters/receivers to newbies as they still worked fine and helped em get going. I would rather give it to someone that can use it than sell it for peanuts... If you decide to buy a new radio, i would get at least a 6 channel model that has a few model memory. The dx5 works but only does one model.. Kind of a waste. At least get the dx 6. You will want a bind and fly plane eventually if you stick with it. I know a few 3000 futaba transmitter owners than secretly have a dx 6 so they can fly spektrum bind and fly stuff when their buddies aren't watching...