radio question

[loonyboy30]

ok here is what I want to do if it is possible. I have a ef sabre, vnr2, vnr3d. the sabre is my son's. The nr2 and the nr3d is mine. At the end of the summer I am going to buy a nitro cp helo. When this happens I will give my nr3d to my son. I don't trust him around flammable liquids yet, he just turned 12. I will be looking for two radios. one for me and one for him. Preferrably one that you can program multiple models into. So when we go to the park we can each bring our regular flying helos and our 3d helos. What radio does this for around $200. and would I need for all the helos to run on the same servos? what would be everything i would need to pull this off . I am a single father with custody. This is the only hobby that we share together.

[tdswan]

Man, there's tons of options out there for radios, JR makes some nice models, the JR 6102 is a great 6 channel, also the 8103 which is an 8 channel but starts to get pricey. Hitec makes the optic 6 and I forget what their 7 channel is. Futaba makes nice radios, the 7CP is a good heli radio. It's best to get the best radio you can afford. I got what I thought I needed with the 6102 which really would've been if I didn't want to get into governors and scale helis, but now I'm waiting on my new 8103 that should be arriving tomorrow. Most or all of the radios have a 10 model memory and all will fly helis. JR makes special versions of the heli radios with the notches out of the throttle and labeled switches special for heli's. I'm not sure if other manufacturers offer this.

You don't need to be running the same servos at all, but it is best to make sure your new radio is compatible with your existing receivers, some transmitters are positive shift and some are negative. Hitec will allow you to choose the shift. Hitec's got some great features, but I HATE their program interface.

As far as prices, you really have to weigh your needs and not the price. I know that's not what you want to hear, but you don't want your radio holding you back in the future, either. If you never think you'll be into serious 3D (like running a governor or rev limiter) or anything scale with retract etc, a 6 channel will suit you fine for years. The 6102 is right around $200. I don't know much about others since I'm a big JR fan, so hopefully someone will chime in with prices on the others.

[Helifino]

I just got a Hitec Optic 6 for $160.00,everywhere else wanted $179.00
Also, a Hitec Electron 6 receiver for $52.00 as compared to $55.00 and up elsewhere. Their crystals are $7-$8 bucks. Here's the link if your interested http://www.balsapr.com/view.asp?id=V815101
You have to go to the page that lets you make them an offer, otherwise you'll pay regular price ;)