Sounds like a good plan to me.

I will go back over the RF stuff in a day or so ( I do not have those modules) and maybe we can get them going soon.

In the mean time maybe you could bread board a chip with it's own power supply serialing out a random set of numbers every few seconds , make sure serial communicator/ hyperterminal can "see" it. That will then be the test signal for VB.

Two projects going at once... Get flustered with one drop back to the other.....

?????