For some reason the body of you messages was blank. Looks like Yahoo is partially FUBAR.
If you want, send to <n5ib@...> direct
JIm, you might like to look at this project (kit) which sells for about $100 all up with display for inspiration. It can be bought with PC interface only for half that or add the seperate display driven serially. Or, a bluetooth pcb that displays on an Android phone. Schematics are available on the page also.