Several posters suggested the 648A instead of the 88.  There are quite a
> number of 18 pin alternatives, also the 818/819, 716, 628A and on and on.
> The 88 is a very capable part, far more capable than the 648A, and from
> hobbyist sources, it is only barely more expensive than the 648A.  It's
> hard
> to think of the 88 as expensive when it costs half what an 84A
> costs.  Sure,
> if you are going to buy a few hundred thousand of them, the extra few
> cents
> matters, but when the shipping costs twice what the part costs, why save a
> few pennies (well, OK, maybe 50 cents) and get a less flexible
> part?  $2.60
> is hardly going to break the bank.


The reason why I suggested the 16F648A is because there are several on-line
resources (including previous posts to this list) that give a step-by-step
plan on how to change a 16F84A program into one for the 16F648A. As far as I
know, no such resource exists for the 16F88. I agree that the 16F88 has an
A/D converter, but when going from 16F84A to 16F88 such an A/D converter
might actually complicate things. The 16F88 is a much better candidate as a
general purpose PIC, but migrating from 16F84A is not "general purpose".
Note that the 16F648A DOES have an AUSART, so the original poster's desire
for a serial port would be satisfied with the 16F648A as well. I'm glad you
pointed out the other PICmicros, though I would not usually differentiate
between the 16F648A and the 16F628A.

Greetings,
Maarten Hofman.
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