Well I didn't mean to sound snappy to Eric or anyone else here. If I offended you Eric, I am sorry. Its just that after many countless hours on my computer and stairing at a breadboard, as would be anyone else I get frustrated, a headache, and I get that taste of solder fumes in my mouth - which can always make a person irritable. :-)

While I am by *no means* an electronics novice, playing with 75kva distribution transformers and 40 watt co2 lasers for kicks, I am a *total newbie* when it comes to assembly. I started using computers with the TI model 99a in 1980, and I always avoided learning Assembly because I thought I'd never need it. While I do know Visual C++/basic, I never considered programming the 8051 in C. I realize that interacting with the microcontroller on the ASM level will be much more robust in the long run, but the journey to that point for me is difficult. I purchased a book entitled "Programming and Customizing the 8051 Microcontroller" by Myke Predko. Its 525 pages and I've read all of it and routinely use it for reference before coming here. I just learn by example, and it is easier for me to see examples of code and then modify them to understand them.

So again, I did not mean to come off sharp to you Eric, and I always appreciate advice, but I assure everyone here that I do in fact read the manual before coming here. I know the answer is in the datasheets, and perhaps my book; but sometimes that information is too cryptic to understand.

As far as this problem goes, it actually worked ONCE. After I loaded the Intel HEX code and put the mPU in "run" mode, the LEDs all went off. When I gave channel 0 an analog voltage of 5V, all 4 LEDs came on briefly and then went off. It has never worked again. As the ADC is less than an inch away from the mPU, I don't think it is noise. If anyone has a few free hours (heh) and thinks they can help me, stop by in mIRC in dalnet #electronics, I'm there everynight.