diff --git a/bacnet-stack/bacdcode.c b/bacnet-stack/bacdcode.c
index a055fd19..e97ff099 100644
--- a/bacnet-stack/bacdcode.c
+++ b/bacnet-stack/bacdcode.c
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 #include "bacenum.h"
 #include "bits.h"
 #include "bigend.h"
+#include "bacstr.h"
 
 // NOTE: byte order plays a role in decoding multibyte values
 // http://www.unixpapa.com/incnote/byteorder.html
@@ -273,56 +274,6 @@ int decode_unsigned32(uint8_t * apdu, uint32_t *value)
     return 4;
 }
 
-void bitstring_init(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string)
-{
-  int i;
-  
-  bit_string->bits_used = 0;
-  for (i = 0; i < MAX_BITSTRING_BYTES; i++)
-  {
-    bit_string->value[i] = 0;
-  }
-}
-
-void bitstring_set_bit(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string, uint8_t bit, bool value)
-{
-  uint8_t byte_number = bit/8;
-  uint8_t bit_mask = 1;
-
-  if (byte_number < MAX_BITSTRING_BYTES)
-  {
-    // set max bits used
-    if (bit_string->bits_used < (bit + 1))
-      bit_string->bits_used = bit + 1;
-    bit_mask = bit_mask << (bit - (byte_number * 8));
-    if (value)
-      bit_string->value[byte_number] |= bit_mask;
-    else
-      bit_string->value[byte_number] &= (~(bit_mask));
-  }
-}
-
-bool bitstring_bit(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string, uint8_t bit)
-{
-  bool value = false;
-  uint8_t byte_number = bit/8;
-  uint8_t bit_mask = 1;
-  
-  if (bit < (MAX_BITSTRING_BYTES * 8))
-  {
-    bit_mask = bit_mask << (bit - (byte_number * 8));
-    if (bit_string->value[byte_number] & bit_mask)
-      value = true;
-  }
-
-  return value;
-}
-
-uint8_t bitstring_bits_used(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string)
-{
-  return bit_string->bits_used;
-}
-
 // from clause 20.2.1 General Rules for Encoding BACnet Tags
 // returns the number of apdu bytes consumed
 int encode_tag(uint8_t * apdu, uint8_t tag_number, bool context_specific,
diff --git a/bacnet-stack/bacdcode.h b/bacnet-stack/bacdcode.h
index 5a441d08..01b23813 100644
--- a/bacnet-stack/bacdcode.h
+++ b/bacnet-stack/bacdcode.h
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 #include <stdbool.h>
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include "bacdef.h"
+#include "bacstr.h"
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 extern "C" {
@@ -73,10 +74,6 @@ int encode_context_boolean(uint8_t * apdu, bool boolean_value);
 bool decode_context_boolean(uint8_t * apdu);
 
 // from clause 20.2.10 Encoding of a Bit String Value
-void bitstring_init(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string);
-void bitstring_set_bit(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string, uint8_t bit, bool value);
-bool bitstring_bit(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string, uint8_t bit);
-uint8_t bitstring_bits_used(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string);
 // returns the number of apdu bytes consumed
 int decode_bitstring(uint8_t * apdu, uint32_t len_value,
   BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string);
diff --git a/bacnet-stack/bacdef.h b/bacnet-stack/bacdef.h
index be4bbbe9..cdacaa13 100644
--- a/bacnet-stack/bacdef.h
+++ b/bacnet-stack/bacdef.h
@@ -81,32 +81,6 @@ struct BACnet_Device_Address {
 };
 typedef struct BACnet_Device_Address BACNET_ADDRESS;
 
-/* FIXME: move the string types into their own modules with unit testings */
-/* bit strings
-   They could be as large as 256/8=32 octets */
-#define MAX_BITSTRING_BYTES 15
-typedef struct BACnet_Bit_String
-{
-  uint8_t bits_used;
-  uint8_t value[MAX_BITSTRING_BYTES];
-} BACNET_BIT_STRING;
-
-/* FIXME: create some init/add/remove helper functions in a library */
-typedef struct BACnet_Character_String
-{
-  size_t length;
-  char value[MAX_APDU];
-} BACNET_CHARACTER_STRING;
-
-/* FIXME: convert the bacdcode library to use this for APDU buffer
-   to prevent buffer overflows */
-/* FIXME: create some init/add/remove helper functions in a library */
-typedef struct BACnet_Octet_String
-{
-  size_t length;
-  uint8_t value[MAX_APDU];
-} BACNET_OCTET_STRING;
-
 /* date */
 typedef struct BACnet_Date
 {
diff --git a/bacnet-stack/bacstr.c b/bacnet-stack/bacstr.c
index 69cfa44f..e7e39e1a 100644
--- a/bacnet-stack/bacstr.c
+++ b/bacnet-stack/bacstr.c
@@ -34,10 +34,11 @@
 
 #include <stdbool.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
-#include "bacdef.h"
-#include "bacenum.h"
+#include "bacstr.h"
+//#include "bacdef.h"
+//#include "bacenum.h"
 #include "bits.h"
-#include "bigend.h"
+//#include "bigend.h"
 
 void bitstring_init(BACNET_BIT_STRING *bit_string)
 {
@@ -199,7 +200,6 @@ size_t characterstring_value(BACNET_CHARACTER_STRING *char_string, char *value)
 size_t characterstring_length(BACNET_CHARACTER_STRING *char_string)
 {
   size_t length = 0;
-  size_t i; /* counter */
 
   if (char_string)
   {
@@ -219,7 +219,6 @@ void testBitString(Test * pTest)
 {
   uint8_t bit = 0;
   BACNET_BIT_STRING bit_string;
-  BACNET_BIT_STRING decoded_bit_string;
 
   bitstring_init(&bit_string);
   // verify initialization 
@@ -249,7 +248,6 @@ void testBitString(Test * pTest)
 void testCharacterString(Test * pTest)
 {
   BACNET_CHARACTER_STRING bacnet_string;
-  BACNET_CHARACTER_STRING test_bacnet_string;
   char value[MAX_APDU] = "Joshua,Mary,Anna,Christopher";
   char test_value[MAX_APDU] = "Patricia";
   char test_append_value[MAX_APDU] = " and the Kids";