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> When sleeping, the PIC16F628@4MHz consumes about
> 42uA @ 5V. If I suply it with some AA Alkaline batteries, it
> would mean rougly:  2850mAh / 42uA = 67857 hours =
> 2827 days = 7.74 years without use

What are you basing the "2850mAh" figure on ? Alkaline AAs
I've seen have been under 1000mAh, usually 800mAh, which
would give you more likie 2 years than 8

(btw, the frequency of the micro is irrelevant when it's asleep)

I think you could simplify the circuit by eliminating the gates too.
The attached shows two switches. As Aaron says, get the PIC
to hold a port pin high to supply its own Vcc until it's finished
transmitting or learning. After it's powered itself down there will
be NO current consumption at all until the next switch push

I know others have suggested low power PICs but only under
ideal conditions does the SLEEP current approach the book
value, and it's still too high for small batteries. Most remote
controls use fractions of a uA on standby and you won't get
down that far with a micro



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