Which radio? Ohhh Yeah, there has been a post or two.....thousand
I myself am trying to get through that decision. Some questions you need to ask yourself are what are you planning to fly; planes, gliders & Helis? Are you looking to keep the budget low? Do you think you might want to upgrade your radio in a year or two or should this one be it for a while? Do you belong to a club? What do they think? Do you have an instructor who will be using a buddy cord? Should your radio be compatible with his? Have you been to the manufacturer's web sites to look at their radios and inventory the features that you want or might need down the line?
For me, after answering these questions for myself, I think I'm going to go with a Hitec Eclipse 7. It has lots of features, will allow me to fly the planes, gliders and helis I own or plan to buy and is well within my budget. However, this may not be the right decision for you. You are going to get a lot of opinions on this subject; my suggestion is to keep in mind what is right for you not them and take everything with a grain of salt.
Good luck
C.P.
"I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...I hope it's not a train"