Mike has much more experience than I and I consider his employer to be a=20 reliable vendor. The mix of 5v & 3.3V along with the matter of some 3.3v circuits are 5v=20 tolerant leaves me a little paranoid. BiDirectional level converter modules have been very helpful. I expect you will soon find interest in the Raspberry Pi or similar. It is a great time for us old nerds to be alive! On 7/3/2014 6:25 PM, Richard R. Pope wrote: > John, > True and true. You can also smoke a PIC. I take it that the Atmel > uP is not current limited at the pin? The PIC is but most PICs can only > handle 150mA total on all pins. This is very easy to forget especially > late at night and when in a hurry. I'll have to look at the datasheets. > True about building verses buying but building can be a lot of fun. > Thanks, > rich! > > On 7/3/2014 4:39 PM, John Ferrell wrote: >> Start at http://arduino.cc/ >> Starting will be easier If you chose a "Leonardo" style to begin. >> The USB connection will provide initial power to the proper places. >> Whatever you get, be sure you determine what the limits are on the pins >> you are using. >> Get careless and they will leak magic smoke. If you can be patient you >> can save a lot on accessory items from dx.com. >> The problem with buying in quantity is that new stuff you would rather >> have comes out every week! >> You cannot buy parts as cheap as you can buy modules... >> >> --=20 John Ferrell W8CCW Julian NC 27283 Ethics are not absolute. What is considered right one decade can be considered inconceivable in another decade. --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .