----- Original Message ----- From: Ian Hynes > So what would folks recommend as the next chip I should try out? I > figure I'll need PORTA (x4), PORTB(x8) & PORTC (x8) + interrupts. It > shpould be programmable on the PICSTART+ and MPLAB. Heh .. and readily > available for reasonable $$$$! If you are absolutely sure of the number of I/O pins then you could try the 'f871 (2kB program space) or the 'f872. The only Q would be the interrupt capabilities you desire. They are IMO fairly cheap and readily available. They have a lot of interrupt capabilities but for normal digital I/O only port B has interrupt-on-change (pins 4 to 7) and an "external interrupt" on pin B0. Most of the rest of the interrupts are tied to specific functions but there are a lot of them. The '877 doesn't really have that many more interrupts but it does have an additional 8 pin port, another 3 pin port and a few more features elsewhere. Jeff -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu