Herbert Graf farcite.net> writes: > True, although personally I'd still never connect the PIC output > directly to the relay, it's just asking for trouble. Ok. But then why stay with 10-20 mA outputs (that and the CMOS 'B' style IO pins were the main attraction of using PICs vs. other micros) and not degrade to 1.4 mA which seems to be the rule, and require external boosters for all uses. After all, they are after die shrinks. I think that moving from 20 mA (haha) IO drivers to 1.4 mA drivers on a 13 IO chip could halve the die area (just assuming). Then I'd expect 25 cent pic16f54b's. > BJTs are stupidly inexpensive, if you're already using a relay, the > additional cost of the BJT is barely visible. A pic chosen correctly usually has enough spare pins to use 2 or 3 in parallel to drive such a small load reliably. Peter P. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist