New here, or, I blame all of you

I have been lurking here on the forums for a bit. I had been minding my own business when I came across a thread on another forum where John B was talking about this thing called a HeaterMeter. My plans had been to save up and maybe use some Christmas money to buy a Stoker. After messaging and then talking to John B, I came over here to the forums here and started really checking out the HeaterMeter. It has been amazing the the knowledge everyone shares on here. So, I now have ordered and gotten most of the parts to build my own HeaterMeter. I got a Raspberry Pi A+, but then saw the post about Micro Center that Jay W made and a buddy of mine drives by the one in Cincy every day so now I am going to have a B model Raspberry Pi as well.

I do have a couple of questions:
1- Should I build my first HeaterMeter with the Model A+ or the Model B Raspberry Pi?
2- I really like the idea of using a thermocouple for the pit probe. Is it worth the extra effort soldering and such?
3- I like the idea of 6' probes, but I am not a fan of Maverick. Should I go with the shorter probes from Thermoworks or?
4- I also like the idea of the Roto-Damper, should I attempt this as well?

I have a UDS that I built myself and a 18.5 WSM

Thanks everyone in advance, and I am still going to blame all of you for this new addiction......John, Bryan, Ralph, Tom...and...and...lol

Lol, my wife blames me for everything, im used to it.

1. If you can get a B Rpi, i would go that route. Its nice having the wired rj45 jack on the pi. Also, there could be an issue with the wifi adapter using the A+, hopefully not.

2. The thermocouple is not hard if you do some research on how to solder smd components on youtube or other sites. Is it worth it? It really depend on application. I actually like it on the uds, as i can just leave it in all the time and know it will work every time. If you like to do hot cooks 400+, the a thermocouple will give you peace of mind.

3. I too loved the longer mav. probes, but i dod not like having to replace them every couple of year or having them give out in the most inopportune times. Thermoworks i have not had any problems from them, at all. They are cheaper, better made and they just work. Im making a aux. Board to use with the rd to make it easier to use the shorter probe cords of the thermoworks. But, its still in testing.

4. The rd Ralph would be more better to answer if its something you could use. I like the rd for the control and for mounting ease of the blower to the smoker. And it just looks cool having it imstalled, lol. And as i mentioned in my last answer, it give you options.

And welcome to the heatermeter forums, you may learn things here you never thought you could learn from smoking and BBQing foods.

Don't have any answers, just sayin' welcome

Addiction.........what addiction,posted as I build another heatmeter!

Thanks everyone. It looks like I will go with the Raspberry Pi B Model. I have most of the parts, I guess it's about time to get started.