Don't underestimate the common relay. Bidirectional, able to take a pretty good joke, and a diode in series with the coil keeps it from pulling in until the input is the right polarity. You could even do a zener in series, and get undervoltage protection. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist