I did the upgrade from my RS-8 to the aquapalm recently. It's farily easy to do, it comes with a new chip to replace the old one on the circuit board. Shut of all power going to your subpanel, remove the plate and then remove the RS-8 face plate and on the back is the existing chip and the kit comes with an extractor. After replacing the chip you wire up the 4 wire just like the existing one touch or spa-link and then mount the antenna.

My only complaint is that it is very slow to navigate the menu and occasionally the remote reboots itself. However the slowness makes up for not having to go inside to turn on/off water features. I also have a spa link which allows full control however not having to walk over the spa is an added benefit as well (yes I am that lazy). The kids are always wanting to turn on/off the slide or grotto water fall and the remote is perfect for this as it has 2 macro buttons that can be programmed to turn on/off any equpment.

The backlit LCD display is very nice at night. I like being able to see the air & pool temp on the remote.

I think it cost me around $350 for the unit. I just called up my PB and had him buy it and deliver it, I think I got it at his cost and I did the install myself.