That's very generous of you! Unfortunately I'm a neighbor to the north & don't live in the States. No big deal though. I have some type K wire and a couple sealed type K thermocouples lying around in a box so it makes sense to challenge myself and learn how to do this.
The concept of CJC seems very simple. How difficult is implementation? I had planned to use a PIC with inputs from the thermocouple and from a thermistor. I looked at the Steinhart-Hart equation (used for thermistors), but as I'm not yet too familiar with PICs or programming, I don't know if it would be easily possible to program an equation using natural logarithm (ln) onto the chip? Of course I suppose a lockup table of some kind is always an option.
The curve of the thermocouple input looks like it's pretty easy to handle using the polynomial T = A0+A1X+A2X2... I'll divide the temperature range into segments and use more concise equations based on available computing power.
As for the amplification of the signal, I'm starting to get an idea of what's going on, but I've still got a long way to go. I picked up one of the op-amps (LM358) that was suggested on this forum just to try it. The specs say it has an offset voltage of 2mv which I think is a problem right? What exactly is offset voltage? Anyway, the MCP616 has an input offset of 150 µV which I think would be more compatible with amplifying mV signals.
So the big question is... Am I on the right track here with any of this? Will I ever be able to make the temperature reading accurate following this method, or should I give up on Op Amps all together and get a dedicated thermocouple IC?
Also, once again Ron, I really appreciate that offer!