Quote Originally Posted by LEDave View Post
"The test board you have is a little different than what most people use (I do not hear of many here using the PICkit1)"

What do most on here use?
I use the PICkit2, and my first learning platforms were Microchips "low pin count demo board" (16F690) and "44-pin demo board" (16F887). The 44-pin demo kit also came with 2 extra bare boards for experimenting with other 44 pin chips. (If you don't mind soldering TQFP parts)

steve