- and also maybe also a stupid question ... what is the difference between a
- PIC
- chip (such as a 16F84) and the "A" version (such as a 16F84A) of that same
- chip???
Different die. Updated functionality. Generally the A part comes later and is
cheaper than the original when it comes to PICs.
Also as an aside: 16F84 and 16F84A parts are virtually obsolete. You probably
came across one of the million 16F84[A] pages that exists out there. Microchip
is a fast mover and they have much much much much (can't say enough) much
better and cheaper parts now. I wrote a page on the subject here:
http://www.finitesite.com/d3jsys/16F88.html
Hope this helps,
BAJ