| There is no prospect of a "cheap" transponder until Mode S is mandatory for all traffic, and this is obviously not going to happen for many years, if ever.
I don't know why the CAA was claiming there would be one - such a claim (which I heard too, in their conferences etc) was never going to happen. It made no commercial sense because none of the existing manufacturers is going to bomb the market price and cut their own throats, and no newcomer is going to get aggressive until the much enlarged market is assured.
Most European airports don't have Mode S and won't for years.
The radiation from any transponder is very low because it is in very short bursts. |