uLisp Sensor Library

DS3231 I2C Real-Time Clock

The DS3231 RTC module ^[1] is a low-cost, extremely accurate I2C real-time clock with an integrated temperature-compensated crystal oscillator. It also provides the date and two time of day alarms. It wil run from 2.3 V to 5.5 V.

Breakouts are available from Seeed Studio ^[2] and Adafruit ^[3].

The I2C address is 104 or #x68.

Setting the time

The following routine sets the time:

(defun ds3231-set (hr min)
  (with-i2c (str #x68)
    (write-byte 0 str)
    (write-byte 0 str)
    (write-byte min str)
    (write-byte hr str)))

The first call to write-byte sets the starting register to write to in the DS3234; in this case 0, the seconds register. We then set the seconds to 0, the minutes to min, and the hours to hr. The times are defined in binary-coded decimal, so to set the time to 12:34 you need to evaluate:

(ds3231-set #x12 #x34)

Once you have set the time the backup battery will keep the time correct in the DS3231.

Reading the time

Here's the routine ds3231-time to read the time:

(defun ds3231-time ()
  (with-i2c (str #x68)
    (write-byte 0 str)
    (restart-i2c str 3)
    (list
     (read-byte str)
     (read-byte str)
     (read-byte str))))

It returns the time as a list of three binary-coded decimal numbers: (sec min hrs). For example 12:34:56 will be:

(86 52 18)

because 86 is #x56, 52 is #x34, and 18 is #x12. It's a simple extension to this to read the date and other registers; see the datasheet.

For an application to make a stand-alone digital clock programmed in Lisp see I2C clock.

1. ^ DS3231 Datasheet on Maxim Integrated.
2. ^ Mini RTC Module on Seeed Studio.
3. ^ Adafruit DS3231 Precision RTC Breakout on Adafruit.