Published February 16, 2020

Arduino LCD Clock, with Date!

This is the code to my new Arduino Clock, it has time in hours, minutes, and second, can display the date and accounts for leap years.

BeginnerFull instructions provided4,795

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino Nano Every

Rotary potentiometer (generic)

Adafruit Standard LCD - 16x2 White on Blue

Breadboard (generic)

Jumper wires (generic)

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Arduino's IDE and required for this project.

Microsoft VS Code

This is optional however I always make a file with the Arduino IDE and edit in in VS Code, I just prefer the editor.

Apple Xcode

This is also optional and can be used to edit the Arduino's code if you like, however I still recommend VS Code.

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Soldering iron (generic)

Story

As an intro project for myself to learn the amazing Arduino platform I made this clock using the delay function and LiquidCrystal library available through Arduino for free. I now use this to keep time in my room and hope that this could either solve a problem for you or help you learn the way I did! Before following the instructions look up how a breadboard works if you don't already know.

Now let's build it! Get your Arduino Nano Every, or other Arduino board and solder on pin connections to each point on it if you haven't already. this makes it so that you can connect it to the bread board, in the case of the Nano Every you can just push it in to the desired spot on the board.

Now if you go to the Github repo you will find diagrams from the How-To Mechatronics website, use these to help you solder wires to the LCD. When your done plug the wires in the D4-D7 data pins into your desired digital pins on the Arduino, my code uses pins 4, 5, 6, and 7. Then plug the other pins in for RS and R/W on the LCD to pins 2 and 3 respectively. From the Arduino take the 5 volts pin and ground pin then plug them into the ground and power rails on the breadboard.

Take wires from the LCD for power and ground and put them into those rails too. You should also do this for the potentiometer. Lastly take the Vo pin on the LCD and plug it into the middle pin of the potentiometer.