RFID serial string

[ds]

Hi all,
I want to create a custom RFID tag system. I am looking at the parallax rfid reader. It sends a signal via RS232 serial ASCII string to the pic. I am fairly new to programming with PICs and CCS. I was wondering which functions are necessary to store the ASCII data inputed via rs232. Once stored I want to compare against stored variables to see if there is a match! Am I on the right track? I was thinking of kbhit to detect if serial input is coming in, and then gets() to store the string. The data sheet says:

When a valid RFID transponder tag is placed within range of the activated reader, the unique ID will be transmitted as a 12-byte ASCII string via the TTL-level SOUT (Serial Output) pin.

All communication is 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, non-inverted, least significant bit first (8N1). The baud rate is configured for 2400bps.

Thanks for the help!