Hi,

New user here. I am looking to build a device that plugs into a receptacle  to measure the length of time of power outages in hours and minutes. It is to be used at an island cottage. If I walk in and the microwave is flashing I know the power has gone off but has it gone off for five seconds, five minutes, five hours, five days? I don't know if the food in the fridge is safe or not. I know it involves batteries, a timer and display and a programmable circuit board, but how to put it altogether?

Mike,

Take yourself to the next garage sale and find a nice analog electric clock, the kind with a face and hands.

Plug it in at the cottage.

If the mircowave is flashing, look at your watch and then the clock. The duration of the outage is the difference.