Bob:

On page 210 of Tower's 2004 catalogue, I see the Heli-Max for $90 and the Hobbico for $70. I have been led to believe they are exactly the same unit with different labels. That makes me think the "Hobbico" label is far prettier than the "Heli-Max" label. And $20 cheaper.

What you can not do with either of these is adjust their gain from outside, much less turn them on or off. All switching and adjustments have to be done before take off. The fancier (more expensive) ones can be switched and adjusted from the transmitter.

If you want remote switching without Futaba pricing, Horizon has the Expert brand EX-100 for $100, including the remote gain switch. They also list the GWS PG-03 gyro for $55. I know nothing about it except that GWS has a good name, however they're mostly park flier stuff.

Either the Heli-Max or the Hobbico will do you very well. As I said, mine are Heli-Max, but when I bought them they were $60 each.

HTH

Bill.