Beginner
10 min

Stay on schedule with MCP79410 and TM4C1294KCPDT

Mastering time: The unseen wonders of RTC

RTC 6 Click with Fusion for Tiva v8

Published Oct 20, 2023

Click board™

RTC 6 Click

Dev. board

Fusion for Tiva v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

TM4C1294KCPDT

Take control of time synchronization in your projects with advanced real-time clock, delivering reliable and precise timing accuracy

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

RTC 6 Click is based on the MCP79411, a battery-backed I2C real-time clock/calendar with SRAM, and protected EEPROM from Microchip. The alarms on this RTC 6 Click can be configured on all counters up to and including months. The clock frequency is delivered from an onboard 32.768KHz crystal oscillator. On-chip digital trimming with ±1 ppm resolution and ±129 ppm range can be used to adjust for frequency variance caused by crystal tolerance and temperature. For backup power for the RTC, this Click board™ features the coin-cell Lithium battery holder that supports CR1216, CR1220, and CR1225 battery formats. By removing the 0ohm resistor, you can turn off battery backup. For storing data, the MCP79411 has 64 bytes of battery-backed SRAM that correlate with the

timekeeping circuit and allow the device to maintain accurate time and date when main power is lost. The time between power switches, from backup to primary power and vice versa, is restored is recorded by the power outage time stamp. The MCP79411 features 1Kbit of internal nonvolatile EEPROM with software write protectable regions. An additional 64 bits of protected nonvolatile memory is only writable after an unlock sequence, making it ideal for storing a unique ID or other critical information. The RTC 6 Click uses an I2C interface for communication with the host MCU, with a clock rate of up to 400kHz. This Click board™ also features a multifunction pin, accessible over the MFP pin of the mikroBUS™ socket. The

multifunctional output on this pin can be configured to assert an alarm match to output a selectable frequency square wave or as a general-purpose output. The MCP79411 features two independent alarms. Each alarm can generate either an interrupt at a specific time in the future or a periodic interrupt every minute, hour, day, day of week, or month. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. Also, this Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

RTC 6 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Fusion for TIVA v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different 32-bit ARM® Cortex®-M based MCUs from Texas Instruments, regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over a WiFi network. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, Fusion for TIVA v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access

anywhere and under any circumstances at any time. Each part of the Fusion for TIVA v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module offers many valuable programming/debugging options, including support for JTAG, SWD, and SWO Trace (Single Wire Output)), and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides, it also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.

Communication options such as USB-UART, USB HOST/DEVICE, CAN (on the MCU card, if supported), and Ethernet is also included. In addition, it also has the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and two display options for the TFT board line of products and character-based LCD. Fusion for TIVA v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

Fusion for Tiva v8 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Type

8th Generation

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M4

MCU Memory (KB)

512

Silicon Vendor

Texas Instruments

Pin count

128

RAM (Bytes)

262144

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
Multifunction Signal
PQ4
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PD2
SCL
I2C Data
PD3
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

RTC 6 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Fusion for PIC v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Fusion for Tiva v8 as your development board.

Fusion for PIC v8 front image hardware assembly
Buck 22 Click front image hardware assembly
SiBRAIN for PIC32MZ1024EFK144 front image hardware assembly
v8 SiBRAIN MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly
NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto image step 7 hardware assembly
Necto image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto PreFlash Image hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.

2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.

3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for RTC 6 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • rtc6_battery_enable - This function enables automatic switch to battery on VCC failure

  • rtc6_get_gmt_time - This function gets current GMT time and sets it in the RTC

  • rtc6_get_local_time - This function calculates current local time

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * \file 
 * \brief Rtc2 Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This application give time and date information.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 *  Initialization driver enable's - I2C,set start time and date, enable counting and start write log.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This is a example which demonstrates the use of RTC 2 Click board.
 *    RTC 2 Click communicates with register via I2C by write to register and read from register,
 *    set time and date, get time and date, enable and disable counting
 *    and set frequency by write configuration register.
 *    Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 *    All data logs write on usb uart changes for every 1 sec.
 * 
 * *note:* 
 * Additional Functions :
 *
 * - void displayDayOfTheWeek( uint8_t dayOfTheWeek ) - Write day of the week log on USART terminal.
 * - void displayLogUart( uint8_t value ) - Write the value ( time or date ) of a two-digit number.
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "rtc2.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static rtc2_t rtc2;
static log_t logger;
static rtc2_data_t date;

uint8_t time_hours;
uint8_t time_minutes;
uint8_t time_seconds;
uint8_t day_of_the_week;
uint8_t date_day;
uint8_t date_month;
uint16_t date_year;
uint8_t time_seconds_new = 0;

void display_day_of_the_week ( uint8_t day_of_the_week )
{
    if ( day_of_the_week == 1 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "      Monday      " );
    }
    if ( day_of_the_week == 2 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "      Tuesday     " );
    }
    if ( day_of_the_week == 3 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "     Wednesday    " );
    }
    if ( day_of_the_week == 4 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "     Thursday     " );
    }
    if ( day_of_the_week == 5 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "      Friday      " );
    }
    if ( day_of_the_week == 6 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "     Saturday     " );
    }
    if ( day_of_the_week == 7 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "      Sunday      " );
    }
}

void display_log_uart ( uint8_t value )
{
   
    log_printf( &logger,"%u", ( uint16_t )( value / 10 ) );
    
    log_printf( &logger,"%u", ( uint16_t )( value % 10 ) );
}


void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    rtc2_cfg_t cfg;
    
    date.day_of_the_week = 1;
    date.date_day = 31;
    date.date_month = 12;
    date.date_year = 2018;

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init ----" );

    //  Click initialization.

    rtc2_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    RTC2_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    rtc2_init( &rtc2, &cfg );

    rtc2_set_time( &rtc2, 23, 59, 50 );
    rtc2_set_date( &rtc2, &date );
    rtc2_enable_counting( &rtc2 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    rtc2_get_time( &rtc2, &time_hours, &time_minutes, &time_seconds );

    rtc2_get_date( &rtc2, &date );

    if ( time_seconds_new !=  time_seconds )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Time : " );

        display_log_uart( time_hours );
        log_printf( &logger, ":" );

        display_log_uart( time_minutes );
        log_printf( &logger, ":" );

        display_log_uart( time_seconds );
        log_printf( &logger, "" );

        display_day_of_the_week( date.day_of_the_week );

        log_printf( &logger, " Date: " );

        display_log_uart( date.date_day );
        log_printf( &logger, "." );

        display_log_uart( date.date_month );
        log_printf( &logger, "." );

        log_printf( &logger, "20" );

        display_log_uart( date.date_year );
        log_printf( &logger, ".\r\n" );

        log_printf( &logger, "-------------------\r\n" );

        time_seconds_new =  time_seconds;
    }
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    /* Do not remove this line or clock might not be set correctly. */
    #ifdef PREINIT_SUPPORTED
    preinit();
    #endif
    
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}


// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

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