I've been on the buddy box for 2 weeks now with the club provided trainer. I am purchasing my own tower trainer and am stuck when chosing how many channels to get on the tx. I'm sure that i am going to need more than 4 but my question is, is it worth the extra money to get a 7 channel tx over a 6 channel tx? I will most likely be going with one of the 2.4ghz models. I've seen the price difference roughly around $80 for one more channel and wasn't sure if it was worth the extra $. Also what would you use more than 6 channels for anyway.?

6ch should do you for a good few models, only when you move onto jets and things with all the bells and whistles will you need more channels

I guess I got into "bells and whistles" on my third plane.

Any plane that uses multiple independant servos is a good candidate for a multi servo setup...

At which point you'll be wishing you had opted for as many channels as possible!

I usually figure it this way:

There's 4 things nearly every plane will have : Rudder, Elevator, Throttle, Ailerons.

Then there are 4 common 'extras": Smoke, Choke, Gear, Flaps

It's not COMMON to find a plane with all 4 extras. You'd be looking at a big gasser warbird with a smoke system at that point, probably. Not to say there aren't plenty of those, but they're not common, and certainly a ways off for you.

So...the thing to decide is "how long will it be before I want 3 of those extras?"

If you think it'll be a while, get a 6 channel...this'll do all the normal stuff and, say, retractable gear and flaps should you get into a small warbird or what have you.

If you think, on the other hand, that you'll be moving to gassers very soon, and thus will typically use one of those 'extras' for choke, then perhaps a 7 channel is best.

Many times "channels" are used up with mixes, not separate functions of the airplane. For example, I have an ultrastick that has flaps. According to the above calculations, I would need a five channel radio. While five channels would make the plane fly, it would not allow me to utilize the "crow" function to it's fullest. For that, I had to have at least seven channelseven though I only have five separate functions on the airplane.
Personally, I would not buy anything less than a seven channel if I could afford it. I owned one four channel, and two six channel radios before settling on a seven channel. I've never been unhappy with the seven channels, but I was always wanting a seventh channel when I had the six channel radios.
JMO.

Exactly!

I just finished setting up a U-Can-Do and I'm glad I had 9 channels available.

On my little Bobcat 50, one channel controls the nose gear, another the retracts, a channel for each aileron ( so I can implement spoilerons ), etc.

The seperate nose stearing channel let's me shut off this servo in flight, preventing it from moving with the rudder....

Once you are beyond a 2nd plane having those extra channels is a blessing.

The last statement there is telling. Most second planes are only 4 or 5 channel setups too, so extra channels aren't needed. It really depends on how fast you plan to move in the hobby. "Second plane" level flyers can keep you busy for years if you want, or you can spend several hours at the field with a big budget and wind up wanting some complicated stuff in short order. If you look at what was available 3 years ago and what's available now at the same prices, investing in a higher end setup doesn't make sense unless you'll actually need it soon.

My "First" plane needed 5 channels PTS P-51. My second seven, Funtana S90. Neither are expensive planes.

This has nothing to do with a "big budget", nor "complicated stuff".

Rather that multi-channel mixing permits you to save money on things like MatchBoxes, servo syncronizers, etc.

Anyone who sticks with it long enough to certifiy will soon be looking for a second and third plane usually very shortly after they solo.

Since you get the most bang for the buck with a computer controlled TX, the wisest investment is to get a good one that will suffice for use years from the onset.

Even if you don't need it up front, you will have the use of a quality device during the start, and should you elect to get out, you'll be selling off something everyone WANTS as opposed to those $40.00 4-5 channel ( ahem ) "bargains" which everyone is trying to get rid of.

thanks for all the replys, and after reading more reviews and threads now i just got to make my mind up between the dx7 and the 7c

Good choices both.