> Thanks - I'm with you, that it worked in the prototype means nothing.
Otherwise
> I'd stick a part in the breadboard and have an answer in the same time I
could email.
>
> Buuuuut.......
> this means I have to *understand* this circuit.

That's the fun bit.  Hanging a track on it connected to a gate isn't JUST
hanging a little extra C on it.   It couples in some noise (Remember that
"Route no tracks near the xtal tracks" directive?)  and it's a potential EMI
source. The chip you drive better have a nice low Z return to the pic.
Series R would probably help all around, as long as the edges don't get too
fuzzy.

You MIGHT be better with a discrete oscillator, feeding both circuits.  A
simple 3 gate HC14 osc can drive a ton, since you aren't needing to tap into
the xtal nodes to do it.


> OSC2 - Oscillator Crystal output. Connects to crystal or resonator in
> crystal oscillator mode. In RC mode, OSC2 pin outputs CLKOUT which has 1/4
the
> frequency of OSC1, and denotes the instruction cycle time.

But can you clock it that fast in RC mode?


> > and the eng mgr told me that all the protos
> > worked, and "don't worry.."   Guess who got to fly to kaohsiung
christmas
> > day to debug an assembly line full of product that didn't run... :(
>
> Uhhh.... let me guess. It was the eng mgr? Right? No??? Did he happen to
have pointy hair?

Nope, me.