>        If the following question is answered in a F.A.Q. somewhere, please let
>  Must be affordable for a college student (aprox. $100 or less)
>
>  Most importantly it must be able to program the 16CXX family.  The
>    16C5X and 17CXX families would be nice, but not essential.
>
The Parallax PIC16Cxx-PGM is now sold in s "hobby" pack for $99.00.  You must
print the docs from disk (PC required) make your own interconnect cable and
supply a 12 to ,24 v AC or 15 to 35 v DC wall wart to power it.  Adapter
sockets are availble for around $50 as well as a documented header to build
your own.