> As a newbee, I am wondering which chip I should start with??? The pic > page says to start with the 16F, some chatter on here indicates another > chip has more capabilities and sells for less. "16F" is a subgroup of the 16 family PICs, not a specific chip. You should definitely get yourself a line card from your local Microchip office, or download the PDF from the web site. It helps clarify the product line, although it takes a while to get used to it and understand what it's telling you. I refer to it several times a day, and I've been designing PIC systems for a living for several years. If you are completely new to PICs and are using them for personal projects, start with the 18F252 or 18F452. They are the same thing, except the 252 has 28 pins while the 452 has 40 pins. There are many other PICs, but this is where you should start assuming low volume general purpose use. The 18 family architecture is easier to learn and the instruction set more capable than the 16. Download MPLAB for free and do the first few projects in assembler, whether you plan to eventually use a compiler or not. This will give you important insights into what goes on at the lower levels, which you still need to be aware of on these tiny systems regardless of what tools you use. > Can anyone give me some guidance here??? No not here. Nobody here ever has an strong opinions . ***************************************************************** Embed Inc, embedded system specialists in Littleton Massachusetts (978) 742-9014, http://www.embedinc.com -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics