It seems that you are learning VB and C++ and having great fun. You dropped into this forum and it interested you. I will try to explain a little bit on microcontroller (the PIC micro) and what PICBasic or Proton is through a personal email. If you need to have a taste of the same. You will need a few tools to build the electronics and have more fun. I am on very tight schedules but would love to hep you get into microcontrollers.

Regards

Sougata