When I'm starting off on a new project, I often contact a few selected individuals. Among those are generally guys with whom I seldom agree on anything, and who see things from a different viewpoint than I. That means they often see things I don't see, or at least in a way I don't see them. The result is that I end up considering things right away, that I might not have encountered until later in the work, when it's a lot more painful to back off and head in a different direction.

Now, for example, I've told you that it might be better from the standpoint of visibility, to use a 7-segment LC clock display. I believe it's hard to argue with that, BUT ... from where you sit, I'm sure you're thinking, "Well ... that's all fine, but it will take lots of time to get that stuff together, and I already have this character module ..." You're right, of course, and only YOU can set your priorities. What you had in mind at the outset was of one form, and what I see with my "mind's eye" is certainly quite different. Here I am, thinking, " teakwood box, mechanical toggle for the pushbutton, BCD thumbwheel switches ..." while you're thinking of a plastic enclosure with 10-position rotary switches, perhaps with a scale on the box and a knob that points to it ... Ultimately, YOU get to make the choices.

If somebody says your choice is wrong, well, it's wrong for him, but YOU choose what's right for you. If it doesn't work, well, that's why you ask questions. Right now, you're still in the conceptualization phase. We all have ideas about how we'd do what you want to do. We're not doing it, though. You are. Go ahead. Get your feet wet. It won't kill you!

RE