Trigger Countdown with 433 MHz transmission - time

Question

I would like to use an arduino to read 433 MHz transmission from multiple Soil Moisture Sensors. Since I can never be sure all transmissions reach the receiver I'd like to set a countdown from the moment the first transmission is received. If another transmission is received, the countdown starts again.
After a defined amount of time (e.g. 10 Minutes) without any more signals or if all signals have been received (e.g 4 Sensors) the receiving unit should stop and come to decision based on the data it got to the point.
For transmitting and receiving I am using the <RCSwitch.h>library.
The loop of the receiving unit and one Sensor looks like this:
#include <RCSwitch.h>
RCSwitch mySwitch = RCSwitch();
void Setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
mySwitch.enableReceive(4);
}
void loop() {
if (mySwitch.available()) {
int value = mySwitch.getReceivedValue();
if (value == 0) {
lcd.clear();
Serial.print("Unknown encoding");
}
else {
Serial.print(mySwitch.getReceivedValue());
Serial.print("%");
}
The full code includes some differentiation mechanism for all sensors but I figured that might not be relevant for my question.
Question:
What's the best way to do this without a real time clock module. As far as I know I can't wait by using delay(...)since then I won't receive any data while the processor waiting.

Answer 1

You can use millis() as a clock. It returns the number of milliseconds since the arduino started.
#define MINUTES(x) ((x) * 60000UL)
unsigned long countStart = 0;
void loop()
{
if (/*read from module ok*/)
{
countStart = millis();
// sanity check, since millis() eventually rolls over
if (countStart == 0)
countStart = 1;
}
if (countStart && ((millis() - countStart) > MINUTES(10)))
{
countStart = 0;
// trigger event
}
}

Answer 2

Arduino's internal timers can also be used in this situation. If a long time period is needed, it's better to use 16bit counter (usually timer1) at 1024 prescaler (largest available). If the largest time interval of timer is greater than time required, then a counter have to be added in order to keep track of 1 minute interval.
For example, for 1-minute interval, initialize registers as:
TCCR1A = 0; //Initially setting every register as 0x0000
TCCR1B = 0;
TCNT1 = 0;
OCR1A = 468750; // compare match register 16MHz/1024/2/frequency(hz)
TCCR1B |= (1 << WGM12); // Timer compare mode
TCCR1B |= (1 << CS10) | (1 << CS10); // 1024 prescaler
TIMSK1 |= (1 << OCIE1A); // enable timer compare interrupt
These configuration of timer will give interrupt time of 1 minute. And upon timer completion ISR TIMER1_COMPA_vect will be run. You can play around with value of OCR1A for different interrupt periods.
Main advantage of using interrupts is that they don't block any task and can will be executed instantaneously (if interrupts are not disabled explicitly).