I think that supplying a flash-able control chip without a protected boot block or equivalent and expecting it to be flashed repeatedly as a part of its normal use is an accident waiting to happen, and should mandate any manufacturer to warn against this and offer a way to recourse for registered users in case of oops. Peter P. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist