The advantage is that clearly the OP has enough variables to deal with. I've had enough problems with oscillators starting up over my years of projects that I would recommend in that case eliminating a few of those variables. If the OP was in a position to want to learn about the intricacies of oscillator design I doubt he would have asked his question in the first place. Olin, I don't know how much you value your time, but I wouldn't be worrying about a $1.85 part on a one-off if it saves me more than about a minute. The best part about this is that I KNEW this post was coming from Olin before I even sent my response. Beginners shouldn't ask for help, but also shouldn't use parts that will save them trouble and minimize the need to ask for help. Olin, I think maybe you should buy a truckload of transistors and work on building your own PIC from scratch. Just to prove how hardcore you really are. On Tue, Jun 17, 2008 at 1:30 PM, Olin Lathrop wrote: > James Nick Sears wrote: >> To get full 20MHz, I would just get a powered oscillator and use EC >> mode. > > How is that substantially easier than a crystal and two caps or a single > ceramic resonator with internal caps? Those canned oscillators are bulky, > expensive, use a lot of power, and glitch the supply. At the minimum you > need two parts, the oscillator and the bypass cap. > > About the only advantages are that is uses one less PIC pin and some > oscillators can be more accurate than just a crystal. > > > ******************************************************************** > Embed Inc, Littleton Massachusetts, http://www.embedinc.com/products > (978) 742-9014. Gold level PIC consultants since 2000. > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist