Hallo Alan,

When you say "F-RAM is the best alternative" I'm afraid that's another demonstration of you having blinkers on, since you only seem aware of two possible solutions. Finding out that one isn't as simple to use as you thought it would be, proclaiming the other one "the best alternative" is a little premature. It is important to always keep in mind that you don't know what you don't know.

So let me introduce you to yet another alternative: how about backing up the controller's own, familiar internal RAM with a battery (or a "super cap") and utilizing the controller's power down mode (see the PD bit in the PCON SFR)?
I'm not saying that a backup battery solution is immediately better than F-RAM. I'm just trying to draw your attention to the fact that there is more out there than F-RAM and EEPROM alone, and that you should look a bit harder before resigning to "F-RAM is the best alternative" after a disappointing run-in with EEPROM.

Also, EEPROM isn't there for nothing. It IS possible to use it successfully, just not the head-on way you were going to initially. Maybe your "best alternative" IS EEPROM, only you'll need to find the right angle at using it. Also, many controllers come with EEPROM on board, so pin count doesn't need to be an issue if you go EEPROM.

Regards, Hans