Hi, I am building a cut down version of PICDEM FS USB to enable me to test a little bit the pic18f4550. I don't want anything fancy because I am working on one of those "block" type breadboard. Sorry, but there are many questions, as I am a beginner. 1. the schematic specifies 2 x 22p for the xtal. However, the datasheet of the xtal I purchased specifies 30p. Which should I follow? 2. C10 to C13 are 0.1u. Are they 0.1u each or together, and do I absolutely need 4 x 0.1 3. C14 is 470n, as I don't have one, would 3.3u electrolyte be ok (I also have 1u tantalum?, is this ok? better than 3.3u?) 4. is it ok to leave U2 pins 20, 21 floating, as I am not implementing a power supply circuit. If both are 0 it will be "N/A" according to table 1-1, but will it make the firmware/software crash? 5. i tried to program the pic with the factory default firmware but is failed in the "verify stage" , so I programmed just the boot hex and then it worked. Will I be able to use the device boot loader when the demo firmware is not present, and why the programming of the factory default failed. 6. I am not using IDE, but on the schematic third page (figure A-4) it seems RE0 is connected to 5v. We also have RE4 on the pic, so do I need to connect RE4 of the pic to 5v? 7. In figure 1-2 the clock is converted from 20mhz to 4mhz. If so, why don't we simply use a 4mhz xtal (internal?)? -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist