RTC basics

The real time clock on Inkplate 10 is the onboard PCF85063 RTC. The RTC uses an external clock source—an external XTAL of 32.768kHz.

Setting time and date

Setting the current time and date is the most basic RTC usage. Once you set the time, it will keep ticking and you will be able to retrieve the current time later with good accuracy. Of course, the RTC isn't perfect, so it may drift by a couple of seconds early or late during the day. If you're using the RTC, it's recommended to set it approximately once per day.

#include "Inkplate.h"            // Include Inkplate library in the sketch
Inkplate inkplate(INKPLATE_1BIT); // Create an object for the Inkplate library and also set the library into 1-bit mode (BW)

#define REFRESH_DELAY 1000 // Delay between refreshes
unsigned long time1;       // Time for measuring refresh in millis

// Set clock
uint8_t hour = 14;
uint8_t minutes = 30;
uint8_t seconds = 00;

// Set date and weekday (NOTE: In weekdays 0 means Sunday, 1 means Monday, ...)
uint8_t weekday = 4;
uint8_t day = 11;
uint8_t month = 11;
uint8_t year = 21;

void setup()
{
    inkplate.begin();        // Initialize the Inkplate library (this function should be called ONLY ONCE)
    inkplate.clearDisplay(); // Clear the display's frame buffer
    inkplate.display();      // Put the clear image on the display
    inkplate.setTextSize(5); // Set text to be 5 times bigger than the classic 5x7 px text
    inkplate.rtcSetTime(hour, minutes, seconds);    // Send time to RTC
    inkplate.rtcSetDate(weekday, day, month, year);   // Send date to RTC
}

// Variable that keeps count of how many times the screen has been partially updated
int n = 0;
void loop()
{
    if ((unsigned long)(millis() - time1) > REFRESH_DELAY)
    {
        inkplate.rtcGetRtcData();           // Get the time and date from the RTC
        seconds = inkplate.rtcGetSecond();  // Store seconds in a variable
        minutes = inkplate.rtcGetMinute();  // Store minutes in a variable
        hour = inkplate.rtcGetHour();       // Store hours in a variable
        day = inkplate.rtcGetDay();         // Store day of the month in a variable
        weekday = inkplate.rtcGetWeekday(); // Store day of the week in a variable
        month = inkplate.rtcGetMonth();     // Store month in a variable
        year = inkplate.rtcGetYear();       // Store year in a variable

        inkplate.clearDisplay();                                       // Clear content in the frame buffer
        inkplate.setCursor(100, 300);                                  // Set the position of the text
        printTime(hour, minutes, seconds, day, weekday, month, year);  // Print the time on the screen

        if (n > 9) // Check if you need to do a full refresh or if a partial update is sufficient
        {
            inkplate.display(true); // Do a full refresh
            n = 0;
        }
        else
        {
            inkplate.partialUpdate(false, true); // Do a partial update and keep the e-paper power supply on
            n++;                                 // Keep track of how many times the screen has been partially updated
        }

        time1 = millis(); // Store the current millis
    }
}

void printTime(uint8_t _hour, uint8_t _minutes, uint8_t _seconds, uint8_t _day, uint8_t _weekday, uint8_t _month,
               uint16_t _year)
{
    // Write time and date information on the screen
    char *wday[] = {"Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"};

    print2Digits(_hour);
    inkplate.print(':');
    print2Digits(_minutes);
    inkplate.print(':');
    print2Digits(_seconds);

    inkplate.print(' ');

    inkplate.print(wday[_weekday]);
    inkplate.print(", ");
    print2Digits(_day);
    inkplate.print('/');
    print2Digits(_month);
    inkplate.print('/');
    inkplate.print(_year, DEC);
}

void print2Digits(uint8_t _d)
{
    if (_d < 10)
        inkplate.print('0');
    inkplate.print(_d, DEC);
}

inkplate.rtcSetTime()

Method for setting time.

Returns type: void

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
`uint8_t`	`rtcHour`	RTC Hour value.
`uint8_t`	`rtcMinute`	RTC Minute value.
`uint8_t`	`rtcSecond`	RTC Seconds value.

inkplate.rtcSetDate()

Method for setting date.

Returns value: void