pinkytoto

I am relatively new to this game and have a very general question. I am interested in building an ultrasonic distance controller which would ideally interface with a handheld running windows ce. The project will be used to control a hydraulic ram based upon the distance from an object. Obviously I will need to have the ram retract or extend based on distance, and I will be changing the distance relatively often. Also I would like to integrate other monitoring and control functions for other projects i.e. temperature, wnd speed, and so on into the interface, this is the primary reason for my desire to use the pocket pc (using the pocket pc I can monitor various projects at once in a compact device). I am stumped as to a good place to start or good reading material. I have done some searching on the net but have not found anything that helps, perhaps I am using poor search terms. Any assitance on how to get started or good reading material would be appreciated. Thanks