[wagonman76]

Thanks for the input. Ill have to keep that in mind about interference.

I just got the main stuff in today. For this time I am going to try the Freeduino USB pre-made board, and the recommended display. Ill put together an extra computer from extra parts so I can have the USB. I also bought one of the green displays to try. Still waiting for the little parts from Radioshack, takes them forever to get parts in. They said about 1.5 weeks, so should be next week sometime. Then Ill lay the tactile switches and components onto one compact piece of PC board. If this unit works out well I would like to try the Iduino next.

Even so, the Freeduino is about half the size I imagined it would be. Im glad I ordered it premade since Id have not been able to solder that tiny, even with the chip presoldered in. Being as small as it is, I might just leave it all in one enclosure rather than splitting them. Even so, I have thought about getting a roll of light gauge shielded wire for hookup to help eliminate crosstalk. I want to make 2 units, one for the van and one to swap between the Celebrity and the Pontiac 6000 winter wagon.

I had one question about supply voltage - what is needed for the Freeduino? 5v, 12v? I will probably just hardwire past the socket and use a PC power plug for the 4 wires, that is a good idea.