Further some readings about several microcontroller lines, I've decided to use
the PIC serie of my applications. I just got my PICSTART16B development board
and hope to have my first hands-on experiences very soon (so you may say I'm a
novice). There're still few points I'd like to clarify; any help would greatly
be appreciated.

1)  The 16C84 is an EEPROM device.  Am I correct to assume that the program
memory can be erased?  If so, how?  With the PICSTART board?

2)  Power consumption is minimal (~15uA) in the LP mode.  Will it be about the
same in RC mode running at about 32kHz?

3)  The options (clock mode, etc.) are selected with what is refered to as
<fuses>.  On the erasable parts, are they burned permanently or are they
erased along with the program memory?

4)  With the clock running in RC mode, substantial variations in frequency is
expected due to parts-to-parts variations (R, C, PIC itself, Vcc, etc.). For
given parts and conditions, what about the short term stability?  For instance,
if the 60Hz is used as the primary clock, with the PIC keeping track of the
interval between cycles; is the RC clock stable enough to be used for backup
clock for let say few hours?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marc Dion                                Defence Research Establishment Ottawa
Tel: (613) 998-2611  Fax: 990-9087       3701 Carling Ave,   Ottawa,   Ontario
Internet:  marc.dion@dreo.dnd.ca         Canada                        K1A 0Z4