IMO, this is kinda a bad time to be shopping for radios. Futaba is coming out with a new system that will blow away the competition, it is due sometime in the spring and there are no prices on the radios yet, so it's hard to say whether you should wait to see what is in your price range for their new radios or look at others.

You also have to decide if you want older technology(72mhz) or newer(2.4ghz), they each have their pros and cons but with your budget you might be better off going with 72mhz, and I say that because RX's are cheaper for 72Mhz than 2.4Ghz.

Another thing you should think about is most new radios have servos that come as a package deal, you should try and get a radio/servo combo that you will be able to use, some sites can make up a package that is right for you so the servos won't go unused. Most servos that come with the radios aren't good for foamies(at least the ones I'm thinking of).

There are alot of good 6 channel radios but as of right now I can only think of 2 that I would recommend (there are others I just can't think of them)...JR6102 and the DX6. If you can find a place that will just sell the JR6102 and Rx and no servos it should cost around $200. I don't know enough about the DX6 other than I have heard good things about it. There are also 7 channel radios that you should consider like the Jr7203 and the DX7.

Another thing to think of is will the radio you buy be upgradeable, meaning if you buy an older technology radio will it be able to upgrade to 2.4Ghz like some of the radios are capable of.

I'm also thinking of buying a new radio but with so much happening this year I might just stay with what I have and let the dust settle and upgrade next year. I'd hate to be a newbie trying to figure it all out right now 'cause it's hard for me and I keep up to date with most of what is going on and it's confusing for me too.

Good luck, I hope this helps more than it confuses you.