Dave,
Yes, you are right that Spread Spectrum is going to be great for cutting down on frequency conflicts. But to think that the conflicts will be going by the wayside any time soon is not the right way of thinking. The ONLY way Spread Spectrum would eliminate conflicts is if the FCC passed laws that outlawed our current radios and frequencies, much the same as they did for the old "wide band" radios. Otherwise our current radios will continue to be used by modelers, and because of this we will need to still maintain the frequency control systems currently in place at most flying fields. I think that it is safe to say that current radio frequencies will still be in use 10-15 years from now. How can I make a claim like that? Because I myself use radios that were made 10 years ago. They still work great and there is no reason why I should quit using them, so I don't. The same will happen when Spread Spectrum hits the market. Yes, there will be a large number of people that will run out and jump on the bandwagon. But there are an equal or larger number of flyers that will continue to use their existing radios for many years too come. In addition to that I just can't see Airtronics, Futaba, Hitec, JR, and any other manufacturers of radios just "stopping" to produce the current radios immediately. Rather I think that they will slowly phase them out over a long period of time. Our current radios and frequencies will be with us for a long time to come. So flying fields will still have to maintain and use frequency control systems.

That's my 2¢ worth

Ken