I need an 8 hour timer for a battery charging circuit and was wondering which one would be better - a PIC with an 8 hour time delay or a 555 timer with a counter.
There used to be an 8 pin IC for automotive use, that had capability from 3.7 secs to many hours, it had a built in ripple counter so that timing components could be small and more accurate. I really cannot now remember the part number, which is a pity, as they were very reliable in noisey enviroments. You may be able to find something similar, otherwise go for Pic etc, 555 would be rubbish for this application.