To clarify the above – it appears in Australia the approved unit is DO260A.
Whereas for the USA and other leading aviation countries in the Northern Hemisphere a DO260B unit is required.
The B unit requires an extra annunciator that shows that the ADS-B is working correctly.
I understand that AOPA in the USA have agreed that the B unit is the only way to go to enable the required level of safety.
So why would we be taking shortcuts and reducing safety in this way?
Of course, if we wait until one year after the ADS-B mandate comes into the USA, the prices will no doubt drop dramatically - just as they did after the CB radio 40 channel change came into the USA. Prices in that case dropped by 50%.