in reply to Process a set num of characters at a time

A simple regex-substitution will do the trick:
s/(.{2})(.{2})/$2$1/g
Feed it any string (such as your string of HEX-values) and it will swap positions 1+2 with 3+4, 5+6 with 7+8, ...

Update: As moritz pointed out to me, this will not work with strings which have embedded newlines ("\n"). If you want that, add an "s" modifier to the regex.

CountZero

A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like a string of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should be retained throughout. There should be neither too little or too much, neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack of structure nor overwhelming rigidity." - The Tao of Programming, 4.1 - Geoffrey James