[disoriented]

Hi Jason. Do you know, if there's a PDF copy of the manual for download, I like to do that before I even look at the product as it is a very good way of assessing the product.

The Taranis uses an open source "operating system" called OpenTX. It's now several years old, having initially been developed as replacement (vastly improved) firmware for the FlySky/Eurgle/Turnigy 9x transmitter. Being open source, OpenTX is continously improved, at a rate which far outpaces anything the industry stalwarts can muster.

In its various earlier guises, OpenTX was known as TH9x (Thus - the German hacker who first documented the 9x internals), er9x (Erez Raviv - another skilled hacker), and finally Open9x. Hardware limitations of the 9x eventually caused another notable individual to develop and sell the ErSky9x replacement "guts" for the 9x, and Open9x was adapted to that as well. When FrSky's plans for their own Tx hardware were made public, OpenTX was the natural choice.

The Taranis is the first of several planned FrSky transmitters, with the "Horus" and an as-yet-unnamed 16ch tray radio to follow in the future. Feedback on the Taranis has been excellent. Personally, I love mine and I think it instantly makes obsolete just about every other Tx, with the possible exception of a couple of the $1000+ models, just cos they're so expensive (there must be a reason, eh?). Programming-wise, OpenTX is king. Nothing else comes close. Because of its complexity and sheer depth, I wouldn't recommend it to technophobes and the absolute beginner, but anybody who is committed to the hobby and who enjoys tinkering will find it a pleasure to use.

Here's a walkthrough by Andre Bennet:
http://code.google.com/p/opentx/wiki/OpenTx_FrSky_EN

Taranis YouTube "How To" videos by Scott Page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PagesFlyingCircus

Taranis review by RCModelReviews.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU4U4OUcamM

Hope that's useful

Andre