Insta is right, a 555 is simple to setup for this and costs less than a dollar. I was thinking you were including something like the 555 in your considerations, but just in case here is a possible transistor only solution (parts shown and values are guidlelines, circuit is rough and could be improved, but it's gives the idea - time will vary with components chosen, so you may need to tweak things a bit, add a pot instead of the R1/R7, etc) Circuit: ![Power Off Relay Drive][1] Simulation: ![Circuit Simulation][2] L1 is your relay coil, and is powered for roughly 60 seconds on the 12V supply dropping out. C2 may need to be increased if the +12V supply drops slowly. **555 Solution** Here is a version based around the trusty old 555 timer IC: ![555 Version][3] Depending on how fast the 12V supply drops, you may need to increase C3 (if it drops slowly) Again values are guidelines, you can tweak as necessary. The R3/R4 divider stops the voltage going negative at the trigger input, which might cause issues. The diode (D1) can probably also be included in a similar fashion with the first circuit (in series with R5) to stop the power on pulse you mentioned (you would also need a large value resistor from the input side of C2 to +5V) Simulation: ![555 Version Simulation][4] [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/MYODu.png [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/Z9DVl.png [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/syzYb.png [4]: https://i.sstatic.net/N8FGj.png