RE: Novice needs help
If you're just trying the hobby out to see if you like it, then go with a low-end 6 channel radio from one of the major manufacturers: Futaba, Hitec, Airtronics or JR.
If you already know you want to stay in the hobby for a while, then get a better radio - at least 7 or 8 channels with multiple model memories and computer mixing. If you get a good radio you only need one radio for a lot of planes for a long time.
It used to be that radios didn't have model memories so we had to either reset the trims every time we flew a different plane with the same transmitter or we had to carry several transmitters to the field.
Radios are very reliable nowadays. It's been a long time since I've seen someone lose a plane due to a failure or radio tranmission/reception. Servos die sometimes, but most crashes are pilot error. Point being you don't have to worry about what radios actually work. All the above brands work.