Transmitter recommendations

I’m hoping to get back into the hobby next summer after a long (15-20 year) hiatus. The last radio I bought was a Futaba 9CH with a 72 MHz synthesized module. Yeah, it’s been a while…

At the time I flew fixed wing (nitro and brushless) and heli (nitro and gas—loved my Bergen Intrepid Gasser). As I see what’s available now, I’m baffled by all the different 2.4 GHz technologies. Spektrum has DSM, DSM2, and DSMX. Futaba has T-FHSS, FASST, and FASSTest. Then there are all the weirdly cheap models with names like RadioMaster, Orange, and FrSky (risky frisky?)

Could someone “ELI5” what the differences are, pros and cons of each, and provide a recommendation or two? To answer what I expect will be common questions:

* I haven’t joined a club yet, but have several local to me. They fly everything from fixed wing, to heli, to giant scale, and even turbine.
* I don’t know what radio brand is more prevalent at the local clubs. In the past it was pretty evenly split between Futaba and JR Propo.
* Getting what everyone else has for ease of support is a much lower priority for me. I’d rather get the “best bang for my buck” as it were.

Thanks!