> How else does one prototype ? If I had to etch a board for every prototype > I would never get a single project finished ;) I don't know what a "Veroboard" is, but maybe that's a different trade name for what was call "Protoboard" when I bought some. These have strips of sockets on .1 inch centers wired together. Yes, I use them for quick and dirty testing. The biggest problem is not noise, but the limited circuit complexity that can fit without using way too many Protoboards. I have had PICs running with 20MHz oscillators on these many times. There is a template project including photograph at http://www.embedinc.com/pic/hos.htm. > 1) By default, most PIC port pins are inputs until configured otherwise. If > you are not going to use the pins, and are not going to set them to outputs > in code, then it is best to terminate these pins to prevent stray noise > interfering with the port pins. Obviously, this is inconvenient when > prototyping, but should be a given on any final design. I use a system where each I/O pin used by the project is explicitly declared in the project include file. This is done with the /INBIT and /OUTBIT preprocessor commands, in conjunction with the standard port initialization code in the PORT module. The preprocessor, PORT module, and all the related stuff is available at http://www.embedinc.com/pic for free. ***************************************************************** Embed Inc, embedded system specialists in Littleton Massachusetts (978) 742-9014, http://www.embedinc.com -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu