Guys,
Thanks for all of the great info. I will have to digest it.
Moran, my P.S. post was not meant to be a reply to your suggestion. I was typing it shortly after my initial post, as follow-up clarification, and before I could press send, I guess your rapid reply hit the board, so without me having read yours, my P.S. followed. My apologies if this created the impression that it was a rejection or critique or your suggestion.
Leo, the timing module you posted takes 5 V to operate, but what is the max voltage it can handle? Can it handle a 16 V AC output from the transformer?
Thanks very much,
Mannyrock