Clock Module for Raspberry Pi 3

1

I have a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ but just was seeing what is the best module to buy so the Pi can remember the Time once it gets powered off? I bought the RTC Module DFR0386 but I can’t get working, do I need to power the module using the Tx and RX USB cable connected to the PI itself.

Thanks

2

Hi Sooty,

That RTC should work fine. It does require a battery to work, and it just needs to be connected to the GPIO pins on the Pi.

Have you followed the setup direction in the product wiki?
https://www.dfrobot.com/wiki/index.php/Raspberry_Pi_RTC_Module_SKU:_DFR0386

3

Hi Stephen,

Yes, but for some reason I can’t get this screen after I do step 2.

image002.jpg707×451 18.7 KB

And this does not work, I can’t get UU

image003.png944×322 114 KB

This message is slightly confusing:

NOTE : DO NOT power it again if the Raspberry Pi has been powered,
or it will damage the module and Raspberry.

What I think it means, program it externally and then connect it to the Pi without power connected, that what I did and no result, than removed the power and
connected to the PI and I only get 8x60 but no UU

Thank you for helping.

Regards,

Sooty

4

Hi Sooty,

That means that you should not power the RTC externally while the Pi is powered. The i2C should be on in your Pi settings. The battery should be installed in the RTC. How did you program the RTC externally?

5

Hi Stephen,

Still having a small issue, I followed this document attached, I enable i2c but can’t get the Point 4, do I need to add the three lines on point 6?

It gets the time but once it turns off it does not remember the time.

Thanks

DFR0386 52PI-RPI-RTC-BAT datasheet.pdf (1.28 MB)

6

Hi Sooty,

Yes you will need to follow each step for it to work. Add the three lines in step 6.

Good luck!

7

Thanks for your assistance but I still have no success so far. I am using it on a Raspberry Pi 3 + with Stretch, do you know if it works on this?

8

Hi Sooty,

What step in the process are you not able to complete? I need a bit more information to be able to help you. Do you have a coin cell battery installed in the RTC. As you work through the steps in the Wiki, at what step are you unable to complete and what happens when you try to follow the directions that is different than what is expected?

9

Hi Stephen,

Yes the battery has been installed in the RTC module. I follow the Wiki, step 1-3 are ok, in setup 4 it says Select “YES” but I don’t get the box that says
“ Would you like the i2c kernel Module to be loaded by Default”, no such thing appears so I continue. After that in step 8 my window does not look like that, it only has “68” in row 8x60 I can’t get the UU that is pictured in bx30, I am not sure if that
is effecting the RTC module. I can get the Time as done in step 11 but as soon as I restart the Pi it does not keep/save the time.

Thanks

10

Hi Sooty,

If those steps are not appearing then it’s not a problem with the RTC but with your Pi’s software.

Have you run these lately on your Pi?
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

11

Hi Stephen

I can answer Yes to these question and still no success.

No sure what is going on. The USB cable is connected is as in the picture but without the Power connection.

12

Hi Sooty,

I’ve pulled in a couple other guys from the team to see if they can help identify the issue here. I’m sorry but I’m not sure where the problem is occurring.

13

Thank you for looking into this for me.

14

Hi Stephen,

Sorry it has been a while. I manage to get it going, but I have been testing it to make sure it works but for some reason if I leave it off for 1.5 hours it speeds up 3 seconds if I leave it off for a week it’s 14 seconds ahead of time, this only happens when there is no internet…that is the idea.

Any idea please as I have bought 8 of these and all have the same problem.

Thanks
Sooty