If size is not an issue, consider Microchip's Explorer 16 board. No encoder
or keyboard, but the PIC has a zillion pins all brought out to card edge
connectors. Microchip has very nice proto boards at a reasonable price you
could use to connect the encoder, keyboard and synthesizer. The board
includes a 2x16 display, as well as serial and USB interfaces. The Explorer
16 comes with a couple of PICs, both huge things with gobs of memory so you
can do the programming in C and not be constantly looking over your
shoulder. The "Student Edition" of the C30 compiler is free.

If money is no object, they have a thing they call the "Graphics PICtail"
that plugs into the Explorer 16 which is a quarter-VGA with a touchscreen,
and their graphics library implements a very credible encoder on the touch
screen. They also have a numeric kepad on the touch screen, the screen is
really too small for a full keyboard.

Since you seem to have decided on a PIC, I assume you have a ICD 2, PICkit 2
or something of that ilk for programming.

...

"RFI-EMI-GUY" wrote in message
. ..

I have a project I would like to build, and this would be for me a first
time PIC controller project.

I am looking for a PIC to do the following:

1. Address 17 parallel binary weighted bits (need at least 17 I/O's in
addition to inputs from (2) below and outputs for LCD (3) below.
2. Have a keypad or rotary encoder to select combinations of the above
bits.
3. An LCD display of a frequency generated by the PLL device attached to
it per instructions below in (4).
4. Be able to enter a frequency such as 2300.6375 MHz, and do the math
to subtract an IF frequency and divide the resultant frequency by some
multiplier to address the parallel bits.

The PIC should be available with an evaluation board containing an LCD
display a keypad or rotary encoder. I do not want to have to design a
circuit board for a one time project.

For background, I have a Scientific Atlanta synthesizer that is designed
to generate a frequency in the range of 100.2x to 110.7x MHz to phase
lock a microwave brick oscillator used for a C band satellite up and
downconvertor. The unit has an external BCD switch which is designed to
display 3200.XX to 4200.XX MHz and I wish to re purpose it for a
different frequency band.

Any recommendations?




--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"©

"Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason."

"Follow The Money" ;-P