Sanwa M17S and Exzes ZIII no backwards compatibility! Is that a good thing?

Being in the UK, we have a few things that blight us, the joy of queuing, an unreasonable expectation to have a decent cup of tea in any country we visit, and the the big one.. Using a stick transmitter for RC racing.

As you would expect, over the years this has really put us at a disadvantage. There are no UK manufacturers, and the stick controller is a niche side-line for many. 

So it is always exciting when a new, top end transmitter is announced. The Sanwa Exzes ZIII is the stick equivalent of the hotly anticipated M17S.. Lots of cool features that realistically we will never use, and a fancy touch screen control. 

Excitedly reading through the specs, I was hovering over the purchase button, and checked out the specifications of the M17S (They haven't actually posted any details of the Exzes ZIII yet, other than its the same as the M17S).  Everything seemed great.. until I noticed a conspicuous indication that the new transmitter only uses FH5 and FH5U receivers.

GAH!

I had to migrate once before. I always used KO sticks. They quite simply made the best handsets for ages. Unfortunately the Esprit 3 had a flakey 2.4ghz, and after a difficult seasons racing, it all cumulated in me loosing a big race (and missing out on the largest trophy I've ever seen).. as the car just lost it's signal around a minute from the end. 

I moved over to the Sanwa.. it was good. Its chunky, the stick movement was odd, (Why not 50/50 throttle??). But it was reliable and it never lost signal. I upgraded to the ZZ at some point as it was a no brainer. I could use the Z and the ZZ with all of my receivers (I have around 15 nowadays).  So moving up to the latest and greatest Exzes was just something that was going to happen.... until it seems that I would just have to start all over again..

It's a big issue.. Futaba makes a great top end stick radio for the same price. The 7XC is slimmer and very comfortable. It has proper throttle stick movement, you can buy official receivers for around £30 less than the Sanwa FH5 ones. This handset is a totally viable option if I want to 'upgrade' my transmitter. 

It is safe to say that Sanwa could have included backwards compatibility. Their previous transmitters with FH5U supported it. With the M17S and the EXZES ZIII they have made a strategic decision not to. I could understand it if the FH5U was impossible to clone, but there already seem to be FH5U clone that are out there. 

It's a shame.. It's definitely stopped me clicking the purchase button straight away... I might just keep with my ZZ for now (All of the Exzes controllers from the X onwards are still more than capable enough). It has also peaked my interest in the Futaba.. and I am going to be interested in seeing how many current Sanwa users might make the switch.. 

So I'm stuck.. All weekend I'm going to have moments of weakness as I look at the pre-order button. Maybe it's just something that's lost in translation, again Sanwa is slow to update their website with any detailed information.. hopefully it's going to support it, but  until it says so, its difficult to commit all of that hard earned cash. decisions,  decisions..

Are any of you going to take the plunge?