The PCF85063A is being described as "The PCF85063A contains 18 8-bit registers with an auto-incrementing register address, an on-chip 32.768 kHz oscillator with integrated capacitors", yet all wiring examples I can find have a crystal connected to it. Do I need one? Am I possibly mixing up terminologies here?
Question 2:
Is the CAT24C512 compatible to the AT24C512? As in I can use the libraries for the latter with the former?
I compared the datasheets and can't find any difference that would suggest incompatibility. But before I order anything, I would love to know from someone who knows more than I do to verify my findings.
Does the "C" stand for "Compatible to" then?
Thank you for your time and effort!
I wish you all a great weekend!
You need the crystal. "on chip oscillator with caps" means that the chip has everything needed except the crystal. RTC chips that don't need an external crystal are pretty blatant about claiming "internal crystal."
Is the CAT24C512 compatible to the AT24C512?
It is extremely likely that they are compatible.
Usually, the alphabetic characters at the beginning of a part number identify the manufacturer of a chip. AT was Atmel, CAT was probably Catalyst Semiconductor (which was acquired by OnSemi in 2009.) Usually if you have a part with a "well-know"
"suffix" part number ("24c512"), there will be pretty good compatibility, especially when it comes to digital parts with less room for variations. Occasionally, less so.
(Like, an ATmega328p is not "very compatible" with an ATmega328pb, even though they're from the SAME manufacturer. But IMNSHO, that's because someone at the company was an idiot.)
Thank you for your reply!
This ultimately confirms my suspicions that I mixed up what an oscillator/oscillating circuit and a crystal are. There was some left over confusion when reading up on it online because some sources even though they go on for quite a couple of paragraphs aren't able to put into words what you just so simply did...
And thank you for your explanation of the naming convention.
I guess in the end I'll just pay a little more than I would with the PCF85063A and comparable ICs + a crystal and get one with an integrated crystal instead.
Thank you for your time and help!
I hope you have a great weekend!
In composing my initial reply, I was struck by the apparent paradox than an "internal crystal oscillator" in a microcontroller always needs to connect to an external crystal, while an "external crystal oscillator" almost always includes the crystal AND the circuitry.
That was one of the things that led me astray.
Also when getting into this hobby, the first ICs I was confronted with were MCUs of which the most if not all come with both; fully integrated oscillating circuits that come with the option of adding an external crystal to switch over too.
It's very weird how you can fall into a rabbit hole with this. The first time I googled this before I ended up asking the question here, the results were these:
Which didn't give me any clarity at all, especially with this diagram:
That led me completely into the wrong direction. But having used rc oscillators before, I had some suspicions that:
Thank you for clearing that all up!
Oh, also, if I redo the exact same search now, the big G gives me different, now fitting results, and even an accurate quick reply. These damn trackers.
