In article ,
Jim Thompson writes:

Everyone is missing that key word "trigger". I need to hit it with a
pulse and have it run for X-hours, then reset... and wait for the next
trigger.... maybe just a pile of 74HC283's

If you are happy writing a bit of software, one of the really
tiny micros will do whatever you want in this area.

PICs and AVRs come in 8 pin packages with a reasonably good
internal clock so one chip is all you need. No xtal, no Rs and Cs
for timing...

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These are my opinions. I hate spam.