----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jason White"

>I got your code I couldn't really get it to work. but with a whole bunch a
> clrwdt commands I got around the restart problem in my code.

That's odd, at least you got it working though. I noticed SDCC is open 
source - maybe have a go at Hitech PIClite if you continue getting problems, 
you get a 40 day trial of the full version and then it changes to the lite 
version, but that's still usable for most things anyway. Also, I believe the 
initialsation (by command) delays, etc can be a bit different - to make sure 
your code is actually performing the initialisation properly, make sure you 
can initialise it to different stuff like blinking cursor on/off, 5x10/5x8 
dots. And adding a busy check too would be good.
If you are looking for a similar but more powerful PIC, I'd look at 
something like the 18F4455 or 4550 - they both have internal oscillators for 
ease of use, but using a crystal is no problem - order a few crystals (e.g 
4,8,20 MHZ, 32768 KHz) and a few ceramic capacitors (e.g 10pF, 15 pf, 20pF, 
40pF) - the datasheet will have a crystal setup section.
With the 18Fs, there is the C18 compiler also, and they are more suited for 
coding in C. If you want to get your head round small MCUs more completely 
though, I think having a go at assembler is always a good thing, it helps 
you to understand the architecture better, and the things to be aware of you 
don't really have to worry about when programming on a PC.
There are always the PIC32s if you want real power and they are built for C, 
but I'd spend a little time with the lower end chips first and work your way 
up to them, as they are a different beast entirely.
If you overclocked the PIC that much, I think it either would not work at 
all or maybe fry it, but I've never done it personally. There are absolute 
maximum ratings beyond which Microchip do not guarantee stability in the 
datasheet too I think, so you can get an idea from them.


-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist