Led timer with dimmer

[dhome1105]

Hi,

I'm new to electronics and only know some very basic stuff. I wanted to create a simple project for some personal use.

Here's the details:
1. It has an on/off button.
2. In a span of 1 hour, the RED LED will start from no light to very bright.
3. After an hour it will start to blink.
4. In the future I also want to have a feature of selecting time span (i.e. 1 hour, 1.5 hours, 2 hours ,etc)

Its like an indicator to do something. I need it to be small and inexpensive, I've read of 555 timer but I'm not sure if this can be used. Please give me some info about the parts I need to buy and probably a diagram for someone that is not good in electronics..

 

[Harald Kapp]

For such long time spans a 555 is inappropriate.

I sugggest you look into using a microcontroller. You can set the time span either fixed (as per requirement 2) or you can add an input circuit to make it adjustable (as per requirement 4).
You can use a PWM output to achieve the dimming effect (as per requirement 2) and the blinking after the timer has finished (as per requirement 3).

If you are not versed in building your own microcontroller circuit, you can start by using an off the shelf platform like arduino, basic stamp, propeller or any other similar platform.