Time Travel!

The RTC boards were taught the correct time, and will be able to keep track of it for a long time.

You can teach them a different time, to make the micro:bit think that it is 100 years ago, or 20 years in the future!

The instruction to set the time is in this line:

set_time(0, 0, 10, 6, 15, 1, 2022)

These numbers are, in order:

• seconds
• minutes
• hours (10 = 10 o'clock)
• week day (6 = Saturday)
• day
• month (1 = January)
• year

When we set them, the RTCs were told it was 10 o'clock on Saturday 15th January, 2022.

When do you want the micro:bit to think it is?

Decide on a date, then find out what day of the week it was or will be on that date.

For example, if I want the micro:bit to think that it is the time that Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon...

In UK time, that was 3:56 on Monday 21st July 1969.

• seconds = 0
• minutes = 56
• hours = 3
• week day = 1
• day = 21
• month = 7
• year = 1969

So I would change the line of code to look like this:

set_time(0, 56, 3, 1, 21, 7, 1969)

Choose your own date and time, in the past or the future - remember to work out what day of the week it would be on that day!

The set_time() should be line 21 in your program - it will look green at the moment because the micro:bit has been told to ignore it!

• Edit the line to be your new date and time.
• Delete the three quotes ''' on line 15.
• Delete the three quotes ''' on line 22.

When you flash your code, the micro:bit will go back or forward in time, and start timing from your chosen date!