Arduino MCP79412 RTC Library

https://github.com/JChristensen/MCP79412RTC
README file
Jack Christensen
Sep 2012

Introduction

MCP79412RTC is an Arduino library that supports the Microchip MCP7941x Real-Time Clock/Calendar chips. This library is intended to be used with PJRC's Arduino Time library.

The MCP79412RTC library is a drop-in replacement for the (older) DS1307RTC library by Michael Margolis that is supplied with the Arduino Time library (but not for PJRC's newer version of the DS1307RTC library). To change from using a DS1307 RTC to an MCP7941x RTC, it is only necessary to use #include <MCP79412RTC.h> instead of #include <DS1307RTC.h>.

The MCP79412RTC library also implements functions to support the additional features of the MCP7941x RTC.

For more information on the MCP79412, see:
My Blog Post, summarizing the features and advantages of the MCP79412
My Power Outage Logger Project, an Arduino-based project featuring the MCP79412
The Microchip MCP79412 Product Page for specs, datasheet, etc.

Examples

The following example sketches are included with the MCP79412RTC library:

• rtcSet1: Set the RTC date and time using a hard-coded value in the sketch.
• rtcSet2: Similar to rtcSet1, a different way to hard-code the date and time.
• rtcSet3: Set the RTC to the sketch compile date and time.
• SetSerial: Set the RTC's date, time, and calibration register from the Arduino serial monitor.
• rtcSetSerial: Set the RTC via input from the Arduino serial monitor.
• TimeRTC: Same as the example of the same name provided with the Time library, demonstrating the interchangeability of the MCP79412RTC library with the DS1307RTC library.
• PowerOutageLogger: A comprehensive example that implements a power failure logger using the MCP79412's ability to capture power down and power up times. Power failure events are logged to the MCP79412's SRAM. Output is to the Arduino serial monitor.
• tiny79412_KnockBang: Demonstrates interfacing an ATtiny45/85 to the MCP79412.

Usage notes

Similar to the DS1307RTC library, the MCP79412RTC library instantiates an RTC object; the user does not need to do this.

Functions for setting and reading the time

get()

Description

Reads the current date and time from the RTC and returns it as a time_t value. Returns zero if an I2C error occurs (RTC not present, etc.).

Syntax

RTC.get();

Parameters

None.

Returns

Current date and time (time_t)

Example

time_t myTime;
myTime = RTC.get();

set(time_t t)

Description

Sets the RTC date and time to the given time_t value.

Syntax

RTC.set(t);

Parameters

t: The date and time to set the RTC to (time_t)

Returns

None.

Example

//this example first sets the system time (maintained by the Time library) to
//a hard-coded date and time, and then sets the RTC from the system time.
//the setTime() function is part of the Time library.
setTime(23, 31, 30, 13, 2, 2009);   //set the system time to 23h31m30s on 13Feb2009
RTC.set(now());                     //set the RTC from the system time

read(tmElements_t &tm)

Description

Reads the current date and time from the RTC and returns it as a tmElements_t structure. Returns false if an I2C error occurs (RTC not present, etc.). See the Arduino Time library for details on the tmElements_t structure.

Syntax

RTC.read(tm);

Parameters

tm: Address of a tmElements_t structure to which the date and time are returned.

Returns

False if an I2C error occurred, else true. The date and time read from the RTC are returned to the tm parameter.

Example

tmElements_t tm;
RTC.read(tm);
Serial.print(tm.Hour, DEC);
Serial.print(':');
Serial.print(tm.Minute,DEC);
Serial.print(':');
Serial.println(tm.Second,DEC);

write(tmElements_t &tm)

Description

Sets the RTC to the date and time given by a tmElements_t structure.

Syntax

RTC.write(tm);

Parameters

tm: Address of a tmElements_t structure used to set the date and time.

Returns

None.

Example

tmElements_t tm;
tm.Hour = 23;             //set the tm structure to 23h31m30s on 13Feb2009
tm.Minute = 31;
tm.Minute = 30;
tm.Day = 13;
tm.Month = 2;
tm.Year = 2009 - 1970;    //tmElements_t.Year is the offset from 1970
RTC.write(tm);            //set the RTC from the tm structure

isRunning()

Description

Returns a boolean value indicating whether the RTC's oscillator is running. When there is no backup battery present, the RTC will reset when it is next powered up, and the oscillator will not be running. Setting the time with RTC.set() or RTC.write() starts the oscillator.

Syntax

RTC.isRunning();

Parameters

None.

Returns

True if the RTC's oscillator is running, else false (boolean)

Example

if ( RTC.isRunning() )
	//do something
else
	//do something else

Functions for reading and writing static RAM (SRAM)

The MCP79412 RTC has 64 bytes of battery-backed SRAM that can be read and written with the following functions using addresses between 0 and 63. Addresses passed to these functions are constrained to the valid range by an AND function.

sramWrite(byte addr, byte value)

Description

Writes a single byte to the SRAM.

Syntax

RTC.sramWrite(addr, value);

Parameters

addr: SRAM address to write (byte)
value: Value to write (byte)

Returns

None.

Example

RTC.sramWrite(3, 14);   //write the value 14 to SRAM address 3

sramWrite(byte addr, byte *values, byte nBytes)

Description

Writes multiple bytes to consecutive SRAM locations. nBytes must be between 1 and 31. Invalid values of nBytes, or combinations of addr and nBytes that would result in addressing past the last byte of SRAM will result in no action.

Syntax

RTC.sramWrite(addr, values, nBytes);

Parameters

addr: First SRAM address to write (byte)
value: An array of values to write (*byte)
nBytes: Number of bytes to write (byte)

Returns

None.

Example

//write 1, 2, ..., 8 to the first eight SRAM locations
byte buf[8] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8};
RTC.sramWrite(0, buf, 8);

sramRead(byte addr)

Description

Reads a single byte from SRAM.

Syntax

RTC.sramRead(addr);

Parameters

addr: SRAM address to read (byte)

Returns

The value read (byte)

Example

byte val;
val = RTC.sramRead(3);  //read the value from SRAM location 3

sramRead(byte addr, byte *values, byte nBytes)

Description

Reads multiple bytes from consecutive SRAM locations. nBytes must be between 1 and 32. Invalid values of nBytes, or combinations of addr and nBytes that would result in addressing past the last byte of SRAM will result in no action.

Syntax

RTC.sramRead(addr, values, nBytes);

Parameters

addr: First SRAM address to read (byte)
values: An array to receive the read values (*byte)
nBytes: Number of bytes to read (byte)

Returns

No function value returned. Bytes read from SRAM are returned to the values array.

Example

//read the last eight locations of SRAM into buf
byte buf[8];
RTC.sramRead(56, buf, 8);

Functions for Reading and writing EEPROM

The MCP79412 RTC has 128 bytes of non-volatile EEPROM that can be read and written with the following functions using addresses between 0 and 127. Addresses passed to these functions are constrained to the valid range by an AND function.

EEPROM is paged memory with a page size of 8 bytes; when writing multiple bytes, this this limits the number of bytes that can be written at one time to 8. Page writes must start on a page boundary.

eepromWrite(byte addr, byte value)

Description

Writes a single byte to EEPROM.

Syntax

RTC.eepromWrite(addr, value);

Parameters

addr: EEPROM address to write (byte)
value: Value to write (byte)

Returns

None.

Example

RTC.eepromWrite(42, 55);   //write the value 55 to EEPROM address 42

eepromWrite(byte addr, byte *values, byte nBytes)

Description

Writes a page (8 bytes) or less to EEPROM. addr should be a page start address (0, 8, ..., 120), but if not, is ruthlessly coerced into a valid value with an AND function. nBytes must be between 1 and 8, other values result in no action.

Syntax

RTC.eepromWrite(addr, values, nBytes);

Parameters

addr: First EEPROM address to write (byte)
value: An array of values to write (*byte)
nBytes: Number of bytes to write (byte)

Returns

None.

Example

//write 1, 2, ..., 8 to the first eight EEPROM locations
byte buf[8] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8};
RTC.eepromWrite(0, buf, 8);

eepromRead(byte addr)

Description

Reads a single byte from EEPROM and returns the value.

Syntax

RTC.eepromRead(byte addr);

Parameters

addr: EEPROM address to read (byte)

Returns

The value read (byte)

Example

byte val;
val = RTC.eepromRead(42);  //read the value from EEPROM location 42

eepromRead(byte addr, byte *values, byte nBytes)

Description

Reads multiple bytes from consecutive EEPROM locations. nBytes must be between 1 and 32. Invalid values of nBytes, or combinations of addr and nBytes that would result in addressing past the last byte of EEPROM will result in no action.

Syntax

RTC.eepromRead(addr, values, nBytes);

Parameters

addr: First EEPROM address to read (byte)
values: An array to receive the read values (*byte)
nBytes: Number of bytes to read (byte)

Returns

No function value returned. The bytes read from EEPROM are returned to the values array.

Example

//read the last eight locations of EEPROM into buf
byte buf[8];
RTC.eepromRead(120, buf, 8);

Alarm functions

The MCP79412 RTC has two alarms (Alarm-0 and Alarm-1) that can be used separately or simultaneously. When an alarm is triggered, a flag is set in the RTC that can be detected with the alarm() function below. Optionally, the RTC's Multi-Function Pin (MFP) can be driven to either a low or high logic level when an alarm is triggered. When using the MFP with both alarms, be sure to read the comments on the alarmPolarity() function below.

setAlarm(byte alarmNumber, time_t alarmTime)

Description

Sets an alarm date and time. This sets the alarm registers only, it does not enable the alarm, this is done using the enableAlarm() function. alarmNumber is 0 or 1, but is ruthlessly masked to ensure a valid value. Note that depending on the alarm type chosen (see enableAlarm() below), only selected date or time parts may act as alarm critera. Nevertheless, valid values should be specified in the alarmTime parameter.

Syntax

RTC.setAlarm(alarmNumber, alarmTime);

Parameters

alarmNumber: ALARM_0 or ALARM_1 (byte)
alarmTime: Date and time to set the alarm to (time_t)

Returns

None.

Example

//set alarm-1 for 30 seconds after midnight on 21Dec2012
tmElements_t tm;
tm.Hour = 0;
tm.Minute = 0;
tm.Second = 30;
tm.Year = CalendarYrToTm(2012);
tm.Month = 12;
tm.Day = 21;
RTC.setAlarm(ALARM_1, makeTime(tm));

enableAlarm(byte alarmNumber, byte alarmType)

Description

Enable or disable the given alarm.

Syntax

RTC.enableAlarm(alarmNumber, alarmType);

Parameters

alarmNumber: ALARM_0 or ALARM_1 (byte)
alarmType: One of the following: ALM_MATCH_SECONDS, ALM_MATCH_MINUTES, ALM_MATCH_HOURS, ALM_MATCH_DAY, ALM_MATCH_DATE, ALM_MATCH_DATETIME, ALM_DISABLE. (ALM_MATCH_DATETIME triggers the alarm when seconds, minutes, hours, day, date and month all match.)

Returns

None.

Example

//disable alarm-0
RTC.enableAlarm(ALARM_0, ALM_DISABLE);

//enable alarm-1 to trigger when the minutes match.
//assuming alarm-1 is set as in the example above, this will trigger the
//alarm every hour, on the hour (minutes=0).
RTC.enableAlarm(ALARM_1, ALM_MATCH_MINUTES);

//enable alarm-1 to trigger when the seconds match.
//assuming alarm-1 is set as in the example above, this will trigger the
//alarm once a minute, at 30 seconds past the minute.
RTC.enableAlarm(ALARM_1, ALM_MATCH_SECONDS);

alarm(byte alarmNumber)

Description

Tests whether the given alarm has been triggered, and returns a corresponding boolean value. Clears the alarm flag to ensure that the next trigger event can be trapped.

Syntax

RTC.alarm(byte alarmNumber);

Parameters

alarmNumber: ALARM_0 or ALARM_1 (byte)

Returns

True if the alarm was triggered, else false (boolean)

Example

if ( RTC.alarm(ALARM_0) )
    //alarm-0 has triggered
else
    //alarm-0 has not triggered

alarmPolarity(boolean polarity)

Description

Specifies the logic level on the Multi-Function Pin (MFP) when an alarm is triggered. The default is LOW. When both alarms are active, the two are ORed together to determine the level of the MFP. With alarm polarity set to LOW (the default), this causes the MFP to go low only when BOTH alarms are triggered. With alarm polarity set to HIGH, the MFP will go high when EITHER alarm is triggered. Note that the state of the MFP is independent of the RTC's (so-called) alarm "interrupt" flags, and that the alarm() function will indicate when an alarm is triggered regardless of the polarity.

Syntax

RTC.alarmPolarity(boolean polarity);

Parameters

polarity: HIGH or LOW (boolean)

Returns

None.

Example

RTC.alarmPolarity(HIGH);    //drives MFP high when an alarm is triggered

Calibration, power failure, and other functions

calibWrite(int value)

Description

Writes the given value to the RTC calibration register. This is an adjustment factor in PPM (approximately), and must be between -127 and 127. Negative numbers cause the RTC to run faster, positive numbers cause it to run slower.

Syntax

RTC.calibWrite(int value);

Parameters

value: The calibration value to set, between -127 and 127 (int)

Returns

None.

Example

RTC.calibWrite(13);     //makes the RTC run slower by 13 parts per million.
RTC.calibWrite(-42);    //makes the RTC run faster by 42 parts per million.

calibRead()

Description

Reads the RTC calibration register.

Syntax

RTC.calibRead();

Parameters

None.

Returns

RTC calibration register value (int)

Example

int value;
value = RTC.calibRead();

powerFail(time_t *powerDown, time_t *powerUp)

Description

Returns a boolean value (true or false) to indicate whether a power failure has occurred. If a power failure occurred, the power down and power up timestamps are returned in the variables given by the caller, the RTC's power fail flag is reset and the power up/down timestamps are cleared.

Note that the power down and power up timestamp registers do not contain values for seconds or for the year. The returned time stamps will therefore contain the current year from the RTC. However, there is the possibility that a power outage spans from one year to the next. If this occurs, the power down timestamp would appear to be at a later time than the power up timestamp; if this is encountered, powerFail() will subtract one year from the power down timestamp before returning it.

Still, there is an assumption that the timestamps are being read in the same year as that when the power up occurred. If this is not the case the year in the returned timestamp will be invalid.

Finally, note that once the RTC records a power outage, it must be cleared before another can be recorded. If two power outages occur before powerFail() is called again, the time stamps for the earlier outage will be returned and the timestamps for the second outage will be lost.

Syntax

RTC.powerFail(powerDown, powerUp);

Parameters

powerDown: Pointer to a time_t variable to hold the returned power down timestamp.
powerUp: Pointer to a time_t variable to hold the returned power up timestamp.

Returns

True if a power failure occurred, else false (boolean)

Example

time_t powerDown, powerUp;    //power outage timestamps
if ( RTC.powerFail(&powerDown, &powerUp) ) {
    //do something
else
    //do something else

squareWave(byte freq)

Description

Enables or disables the square wave output on the multi-function pin (MFP).

Syntax

RTC.squareWave(byte freq);

Parameters

freq: One of the following: SQWAVE_1_HZ, SQWAVE_4096_HZ, SQWAVE_8192_HZ, SQWAVE_32768_HZ, SQWAVE_NONE (byte)

Returns

None.

Example

RTC.squareWave(SQWAVE_1_HZ);    //output a 1Hz square wave on the MFP

out(boolean level)

Description

Sets the logic level on the MFP when it's not being used as a square wave or alarm output. The default value after the RTC chip is reset is HIGH.

Syntax

RTC.out(boolean level);

Parameters

level: HIGH or LOW (boolean)

Returns

None.

Example

RTC.out(LOW);   //set the MFP to a low logic level

idRead(byte *uniqueID)

Description

Reads the 64-bit unique ID from the RTC.

Syntax

RTC.idRead(byte *uniqueID);

Parameters

uniqueID: An 8-byte array to receive the unique ID (*byte)

Returns

No function value returned. The RTC's ID is returned to the uniqueID array.

Example

byte buf[8];
RTC.idRead(buf);

vbaten(boolean enable)

Description

Set or clear the VBATEN bit. Setting the bit powers the clock and SRAM from the backup battery when Vcc falls. Note that setting the time via set() or write() sets the VBATEN bit.

Syntax

RTC.vbaten(boolean enable);

Parameters

enable: true or false (boolean)

Returns

None.

Example

RTC.vbaten(false);

getEUI64(byte *uniqueID)

Description

Returns an EUI-64 ID. For an MCP79412, calling this function is equivalent to calling idRead(). For an MCP79411, the EUI-48 ID is converted to EUI-64. Caller must provide an 8-byte array to contain the results.

Syntax

RTC.getEUI64(byte *uniqueID);

Parameters

uniqueID: An 8-byte array to receive the EUI-64 unique ID (*byte)

Returns

No function value returned. The EUI-64 ID is returned to the uniqueID array.

Example

byte buf[8];
RTC.getEUI64(buf);