the 74hc597 appears to be the parrallel-in, serial out analog to the famous 74hc595. Latches, shift registers, easilly cascadable, and presumably spi-compatible (or nearly so)... BillW -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body