I need a timer that tiggers automatically every nn minutes

A wonderful thing is a Tigger; A Tigger's a wonderful thing. Their tops are made out of rubber, their bottoms are made out of spring They're bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is: I'm the only one!

How about a smartphone or a PC app?

We're never short of ideas here:

I'm to buy a smartphone just to get a timer to beep every few minutes?

PC app: What if I'm out walking, am I to take the PC/laptop/tablet with me?

MM

If the idea of building something from CMOS is too tricky for you, a simpler solution is to use a Raspberry Pi. A few lines of code and you're done. Example:

Yes, Maplin/Velleman do a timer kit, too, but I was rather hoping to find something for a couple of quid I could use straightaway out of the box.

MM

Actually I think you just want one of those cheap Casio sports watches with lap timers and whatnot; they have all sorts of configurable alarms, including the kind you describe.

Why not say that it needs to be portable when you ask the question in the first place?

You don't actually need a timer. You just need an MP3 file on an MP3 player that replays continuously. You can record different MP3s for different intervals between beeps.

Any of these any good?

there is an auto repeat section

If all it's doing is sounding a bleeper, then a CMOS NE555 or equivalent in multistable mode to generate the time interval, driving another to generate the bleep. Add pots to taste for adjusability. It should all fit in a smallish box with a couple of AA cells to drive it.

yes for such a common application why isn't there a choice of cheap colourful models on amazon/ebay in various price ranges?

Jim K

That's an idea. Now, if only I had an MP3 player...

MM

Yes, the Gymboss seems the most appropriate and it's on Amazon.co.uk too.

MM

Various sports watches will do this eg

Or you can probably buy a simple egg timer electronics kit from the likes of Maplin or Velleman for slightly less and build your own.

Be easy enough with a few 555 timers. One to set the delay, another to set the time of the beep, and possibly a third to generate the beep. With either solid state - or possibly easier - relay switching.

Maybe you should just hum a tune to yourself, and every time you get to a particular point in the chorus just go BEEEEEEEP for ten seconds.

You can buy an MP3 player for half the price. Some people are weirdly hard to please.

Look on Amazon? :-)

What you want is a sports training timer. Two minutes workout, one minute rest type of thing.

The first one I found (and only one I looked at) is

also at Amazon -- and I think it will do what you want, but I will leave the details to you.

Thomas Prufer

Countdown timer with repeat function should be on most of them, but you need to check the specification.

You can probably also get a 'pill timer' for reminding people when they are due to take their pills.

I see some on Amazon for around £5 but with mixed reviews and scant technical details.

Cheers

Dave R

Might help if you specified the actual requirements - like what you need it to do. e.g. beep at you, turn main kit on and off, be installed in a consumer unit, run off batteries?