Wow. Thats a lot of stuff to be looking at. An oscilloscope is deffo out because i dont have one and i think they are expensive. Ive never used the simulator before but im guessing it runs on the PC and could be affected by other programs that are running. I will try out the timer method because it seems best. Ive just gotta have a good read through those links to find out how to use one.

Thanx for the optimization bits too. I like things to be as optimized as possible.