“Loop and the other freebie have ads for 'low-cost Mode S' around £2k+fitting.”
If you have a KT76a the best option I am aware of is;
http://www.filser.de
You can get one for about £1350 ish + vat from Lyndhurst Touchdown Services Ltd tel +44 (0)23 8028 2619. It is plug compatible with the KT and has an inbuilt encoder, so will save you a fortune on installation. I would not recommend that you jump unless you are planning on IFR flight in a designated area, but this is what I would get if I had to.
France is ahead on the exceptions. All 8000 micros have been exempted for some time and I understand others have been announced, but I am not fully up to date, not enough hours in the day to keep up with things at the moment!
All the data from Pulse1 fits what I am being told, but only for VFR flight. Probable that there will be a blanket exemption up to 6000ft (the proposed new transition height) in the open FIR, and we may get to keep out mode c’s for unrestricted access to class D. The above is my personal opinion only as it is not yet agreed. As Pulse says much consultation is going on.
No Idea how all this will impact flight in Europe VFR, but my guess would be we would need to negotiate agreements with our European friends if we do not comply. This is probably no big deal as this is how PFA aircraft get free movement around most of Europe anyway.
Rod1