I tried to build the whole clock on my breadboard without using the
DS1307 breakout board, instead trying the DS1307s I ordered from Jameco. I don’t know what happened, but they just don’t program. They just spit back “2165/165/165 165:165:85”. I must have killed them. I did splash some coffee on my breadboard not too long ago. I cleaned it out the best I could, but I guess I shorted some of the lines out since the DS1307s just won’t program. I had them plugged in the board around where the coffee landed, so maybe I shorted them out.
I wish I had enough foresight to install an 8-pin DIP on the breakout board to test them. Oh well.
I ordered another breakout board from Adafruit to do just that. I needed to figure out if the chips are dead, or if I’m just hooking them up incorrectly. Maybe it’s the crystal I’m using. In any case, I received the breakout kit today. This time, I soldered in an 8-pin dip.
With the 8-pin DIP in, I can plug in the two chips and see if either of them program.
I also picked up a new, larger breadboard since the bottom right-hand side of the old one ended up with coffee on it. I’ve had that breadboard for 10 years. It’s served me well. It was time for an upgrade anyway. There’s a few holes that have jumper wires stuck in them. They broke off pretty deep down and I can’t get them out. So those holes are unusable. There’s no a lot, but enough to be annoying.
I rebuilt the clock on the new breadboard and popped in the new DS1307. Boom. It works.
I was able to set the time without a problem.
Now for the 2 chips that I think I fried…..
No dice. They’re no good. No matter what I try, they just spit back “2165/165/165 165:165:85”. Looks like I killed them. That answers that.
Not that it matters. I’ve already decided that I’m ditching the DS1307 in my clock. I’m going to use a DS3231 instead. I placed a DS3231 in my Eagle file and redid the board. I then printed it out so I could check my placement.
Everything looks good, but I did need to make the resistors larger. The ones I had on the board were just a little bit too small. Now I just need the DS3231.
I ordered a
ChronoDot breakout board to prototype with and some loose DS3231s on eBay. They’re coming from China, so who knows how long they’ll take to get here. I just I hope I at least get the ChronoDot by the weekend!
See this project from start to finish: We Have a Clock Setting the Clock Clock Code is Complete Clock Design Decisions New DS1307 Kit
ChronoDot Breakout Board Arduino LCD Clock PCB Complete Making the LCD Clock Stand - Take 1 Arduino LCD Clock PCBs Arrived! Arduino LCD Clock Assembly Making the LCD Clock Stand - Take 2 Another Clock Stand Arduino LCD Clock: New GUI Laser Cut LCD Clock Enclosure: Take 1 Laser Cut LCD Clock Enclosure: Take 2
