So basically, Futaba's policy is "we only work on our newest radios and you guys with older (8U) radios have to upgrade to the latest thing". My 8U is a great radio and works on 72mhz and 2.4ghz. It just does not make sense to me that I have to buy a new radio. I think you're all a bunch of uppity snobs at Futaba.
And, Radio South is a lost cause. He's too busy being an executive at AMA and does not have time to fix Futaba radios any more. So unless you own a very new Futaba radio you are basically on your own when it comes to repairs.
Spektrum does not seem to have any problems about fixing their radios. Yes, I own Spektrum too.
Bob