Virtuabotixrtc.h Arduino Library

An Arduino cannot keep accurate time on its own using basic functions like delay() or millis() . These functions track relative time since the board powered on and drift significantly over hours or days. Furthermore, if power is disconnected, the time resets completely.

April 11, 2026 Library version referenced: 1.0.0 (as available in Arduino Library Manager)

// Print date on the second row lcd.setCursor(0, 1); lcd.print("Date: "); if (myRTC.dayofmonth < 10) lcd.print("0"); lcd.print(myRTC.dayofmonth); lcd.print("/"); if (myRTC.month < 10) lcd.print("0"); lcd.print(myRTC.month); lcd.print("/"); lcd.print(myRTC.year); virtuabotixrtc.h arduino library

Unlike your PC or smartphone, the standard Arduino (Uno, Mega, Nano) does not have a built-in battery-backed clock. As soon as you unplug the USB cable, its internal counter resets to zero. This is where Real-Time Clock (RTC) modules come in.

Download the library source files (usually a .zip archive from GitHub or an Arduino community forum). Open your Arduino IDE. An Arduino cannot keep accurate time on its

Serial.println("RTC Time has been set!");

void setup() Serial.begin(9600); if (!SD.begin(10)) Serial.println("SD Card failed!"); return; April 11, 2026 Library version referenced: 1

The Arduino community has several libraries for RTC modules. Here's how VirtuabotixRTC stacks up against the others.

The DS1302 uses a 3-wire synchronous serial interface to communicate with the Arduino. Unlike I2C modules (like the DS3231) which require specific hardware pins (A4 and A5 on the Arduino Uno), the DS1302 can be connected to on your Arduino board. Pinout Configuration DS1302 Pin Description Arduino Pin (Example) VCC Main Power Supply (5V or 3.3V) GND CLK / SCLK Serial Clock Digital Pin 6 DAT / IO Serial Data Digital Pin 7 RST / CE Reset / Chip Enable Digital Pin 8 Installing the VirtuabotixRTC Library

: virtuabotixRTC(uint8_t SCLK, uint8_t IO, uint8_t CE) Sets the pins for Serial Clock (SCLK), I/O Data (IO), and Chip Enable (CE/RST).