> Hi Everyone... I'm brand-new to the list, and have a few questions on
> getting started with a a new idea.
>
> What do I need?
>     I was wondering if someone could give me a list of things I'll need
> to get started...  I've tried calling Microchip,

The Picstart Plus development programmer from Microchip is pretty good and
you'll need the MPlab software (comes with the Picstart)

> but I've been given the serious run-around, or end up talking to a sales
> person who doesn't even know what a PIC is.
>
> So, I guess for someone to tell me what I need, I'll tell you what my
> specifications are:
>
>     I need a few inputs and outputs (say around 5 each), 2 A/D's
> (preferably 12 bit or better), I'm going to need a reasonable
> amount of ram/rom (256 bytes would be nice, 8 bit chip is fine).  A
> couple of programable timers which create an interrupt.
> I'll also need a way to program the thing.  I'de like to be able to do
> don't know which one), and I don't know which PIC
> I need.  Also, the pic should probably have an EEProm so I don't need a
> UV eraser or fancy programmer (I assume I can
> program it with a serial cable? True?).

The new PIC16F877 sounds good check it out at www.microchip.com