In, (hopeully), less than a year, after all of the 'me too' stuff is finished in the industry regarding 2.4; we will likely never have to have this discussion again.

It is my sincere hope that 72 MHz will just go away, and we will all be shoot-down resistant. With regard to 'diminished performance', there is really no such thing. These are crystal based radios, a technology from the early '30's. Either they will pass a range-check or they won't. Interference is not usually detected in a standard range test. It is therefore, a risk we must accept.

I am convinced that MOST incidents that are blamed on 'radio failure' are simply 'operator error'. I have seen a few too many people thumb-in a plane they were barely qualified to fly and then blame the radio. I have had 3 incidences of being 'shot-down' in my first 14 months of flying RC. In every instance, someone mistakenly turned-on. I never lost a plane, thankfully. I'm sure this is due to an abnormally sudden and swift barrage of explitives and threats which allowed the offending user to quickly turn-off.

I will be flying on 72 for one more year, (funny I should say that since I have only been flying for 16 months now). I will be experimenting with a new technology which I have been watching for almost a year on glow planes and foam. When there is a clear winner, I will gladly sell all of my crystals and rx's for pennies on the dollar and use the new technology in my more expensive planes.

As a relatively new flyer, I am quite surprised that it has taken this long for an industry/hobby wide upgrade in our most basic technological need.

I have several RX crystals, a few tuned modules and a synth module because I can't be bothered with sharing a frequency with someone who could potentially cost me more than he could afford to replace. I have never had a radio issue beyond the occasional momentary glitch in well over 250 hours of TX time. I do, however, follow the manufacturers guidelines regarding compatability and range testing....well, I only range test if I have changed something material to the radio gear...but still.

If you can wait for a decent 2.4 system to emerge in the industry, do so.