Melanie,

After thinking about it after my last post I thought maybe a good solution is a small PIC, a iButton eeprom with a code with a date and another that just keeps the output on with a small realtime clock inside which I can set before sending the switchboard off. (maybe a DS1302) I will still have the ibutton exchange system but without having to set the DS1994 alarm which I cannot get around. (Is the DS1302 relatively accurate over a year? +- 1 day)

Regards

Chris