RTC Clock – ESP32 board

Introduction

A key element in many Arduino projects is time management. Whether to create an alarm clock, a data logger, or any other system requiring precise time management, the use of an RTC (Real Time Clock) module proves to be the perfect solution.

In this tutorial, we will learn about the RTC module for ESP32 and see how it can optimize the accuracy and reliability of your projects.

Here is the diagram associated with the project:

Read time from clock module

To use the DS1307 clock module, you will need to install the RTClib library in Arduino IDE. To do this, click on Library Manager then RTClib:

#include <Wire.h>
#include <RTClib.h>

// Create an instance of the RTC_DS1307 object
RTC_DS1307 rtc;

void setup() {
  // Initialize serial communication for displaying values
  Serial.begin(115200);

  // Initialize I2C communication with specific pins
  Wire.begin(21, 22); //SDA on GPIO21, SCL on GPIO22
  
  // Check if the DS1307 is connected
  if (!rtc.begin()) {
    Serial.println("Unable to find an RTC DS1307!");
    while (1);
  }

  // Check if the RTC watch is configured correctly
  if (!rtc.isrunning()) {
    Serial.println("RTC is not running, it will be configured.");
    rtc.adjust(DateTime(F(__DATE__), F(__TIME__))); // Automatic setting to code compilation date and time
  }
}

void loop() {
  // Read time and date from DS1307
  DateTime now = rtc.now();

  // Afficher les valeurs sur le moniteur série
  Serial.print("Current date and time: ");
  Serial.print(now.year(), DEC);
  Serial.print('/');
  Serial.print(now.month(), DEC);
  Serial.print('/');
  Serial.print(now.day(), DEC);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(now.hour(), DEC);
  Serial.print(':');
  Serial.print(now.minute(), DEC);
  Serial.print(':');
  Serial.print(now.second(), DEC);
  Serial.println();

  // Wait a second before the next reading
  delay(1000);
}