Some of the 18F devices have comparisons of EC vs. other modes. It appears that there is about a 30% power savings over using the HS mode . Does this translate to the '819? I believe it will have 'some' savings in power. It has answered the question that it is not less power efficient, not to mention space saving, by using an external oscillator and adjusting the PBP routines for the 9% frequency difference. I'll have the boards back next week, and report my findings.

Thanks for the feedback,
Ron