So am I to understand that the Beta testing unit I have is about as useful as an Ashtray on a motorbike now?
It still receives ADS-B, and you can still use it as the basis of a full unit if you want.
I can see Airline traffic on it but I am guessing my PAW unit doesn't show up on their monitor? Just as well I have MODE 'C' or MODE 'S' in the aircraft I fly
Airliners won't see you anyway with the P3i, that's just a PAW to PAW communication. The TCAS will see Mode C or S transponders.
If I buy a bridge, which comes with a license & add it to my old Pi & hardware what are the functions that I won't get?
You won't get voice alerts (if you have a suitable input and cable for this) and you won't get non-ADS-B Mode S alerts. In the future there may be Mode C alerts but they're not there yet.
If I opt to buy a complete unit, which comes fully tested and licensed, with Bridge, all hardware, and based on a Pi2 what is the price to buy ?
http://pilotawarehardware.com/product-category/pilotaware-hardware/£84.99 + VAT for a bridge and licence.
£159.99 + VAT for a complete unit.
Or you could buy a Pi2 yourself and a Bridge and create a full unit yourself.
With me knowing that Electronics is a Black Art I am not even contemplating creating a full unit myself
It's plugging one board in, and putting the USB dongles in and connecting the aerials up. That's all. Maybe drilling a new hole in the case. Since you have all the other bits, you can just buy a Pi 2 for £30 inc VAT plus the bridge. Did you say you had the GPS dongle or not? It's a white USB dongle.
https://cpc.farnell.com/raspberry-pi/raspberrypi-2-modb-1gb/sbc-raspberry-pi-2-model-b-1gb/dp/SC13794?COM=superwidget-link_RaspberryPi2%20CMPNULLThe hard bit is doing the software and the licence and you already know how to do those. But if you have someone near you who knows what to do, even better.
if folk like yourself couldn't get it right in the Beta Testing stage I have no chance of getting it right at any time of my life.
You're not designing anything from scratch, you're just plugging ready built bits together.
whether I can justify spending money on something that I neither understand the gubbins of or whether I have that much faith in being the Final unit...... I am guessing that these units could be akin to mobile phones where the latest model of PAW is currently the 'i-phone' but by the time Fly UK 2017 comes around the latest version would be the 'i-phone 7'
Only in terms of software updates, and any add-ons there may be in the future - the basic unit is now the basic unit. We can talk you through any software updates and so on in the future.