Hi Mister_e,
The 16F88 seems to be extra labor intensive and not suitable for newbies, as it has so many registers that require you to set and other little quirks, there are several open posts this month by people (like myself) who are a little short on experience, that are having trouble with this device. I think they would do better with a 16F628a / 648a or 16F876 / 877 etc. At least until they get their sealegs.