Introduction:
The RTC Pi is very useful for
standalone projects where your Raspberry Pi will not have a network
connection and therefore no way to retrieve the current date and time
from the internet.
A mounting hole is provided so you can securely bolt the RTC Pi to your Raspberry Pi with our mounting kit (sold separately).
The RTC Pi can also be used on Arduino boards when connected via the I2C bus.
The i2c address for the DS1307 RTC is 0x68. This board is not
compatible with the ADC Pi V1 board but is compatible with the Delta
Sigma Pi and ADC Pi V2 when alternative i2c addresses are used.
Warning: Do not
connect the RTC Pi to your Raspberry Pi when the power is connected
without a CR2032 battery installed. This can cause damage to the
DS1307 RTC chip.
The RTC Pi uses a CR2032 button battery (battery not included).
Due to shipping restrictions we are no longer allowed to ship the RTC Pi with a battery.
Compatibility Chart
Raspberry Pi Model A |
Yes |
Raspberry Pi Model B |
Yes |
Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+ |
Yes |
Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ |
Yes |
Raspberry Pi 2 Model B |
Yes |
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B |
Yes |
Raspberry Pi Zero |
Yes |
ODroid C1 |
Yes |
ODroid C2 |
Yes |
Schematic

Click to download schematic PDF.
Mechanical Drawings

Click image to enlarge
How to set and read the time
Follow our tutorial on how to enable I2C on your Raspberry Pi and set up the real time clock on the RTC Pi.
Battery Notes: We have had reports that some brands
of button cells do not make a reliable connection when fully inserted
into the battery holder on the version 1 RTC Pi boards. Moving the
battery out by 3-5mm solves this problem.
The schematic for the RTC Pi version 1 can be found here.
Sample Code
We have python 2 and 3 libraries available for this expansion board. You can download all of the libraries from github at:
https://github.com/abelectronicsuk/
To download the Python 2 libraries to your Raspberry Pi type in terminal:
git clone https://github.com/abelectronicsuk/ABElectronics_Python_Libraries.git
To download the Python 3 libraries to your Raspberry Pi type in terminal:
git clone https://github.com/abelectronicsuk/ABElectronics_Python3_Libraries.git

Tutorials
Product Code:
RTC Pi
Important Information
This development board/kit
is intended for use for ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, OR
EVALUATION PURPOSES ONLY and is not considered by abelectronics.co.uk to
be a finished end-product fit for general consumer use. As such, the
goods being provided are not intended to be complete in terms of
required design-, marketing-, and/or manufacturing-related protective
considerations, including product safety and environmental measures
typically found in end products that incorporate such semiconductor
components or circuit boards. Persons handling the product(s) must have
electronics training and observe good engineering practice standards.
This development board/kit does not fall within the scope of the
European Union directives regarding electromagnetic compatibility,
restricted substances (RoHS), recycling (WEEE), FCC, CE or UL, and
therefore may not meet the technical requirements of these directives or
other related directives.