I just rejoined the hobby 2 years ago, after an 18 year absence. I would say the quality of a lot of things has improved, especially the build quality of arf's. I had a couple arf's back then, and though they were pretty, they were built heavy and yet, were still quite weak in minor mishaps. The arf's of today aren't really much tougher, but they are 1-2lbs lighter in a comparable size. Example: I had an EZ Models Bud Light Laser 200 in a 55" wingspan; it weighed over 7 lbs. My 58" GP Reactor weighs 5 1/2 lbs!

The only thing I've had trouble with so far is an H9 voltmeter/tach. I bought it used off Ebay, and maybe shoulda known, as there were several available on there at the time! Voltmeter part is fine, but the tach is garbage. I can't even get it to consistently read a lightbulb at 3600 rpm, like everyone says is a good tester. Looking for a good tach; is the Glowbee a decent one for the money?