Timers/counters 0 and 1

The two 16-bit Timer/Counter registers: Timer 0 and Timer 1 can be configured to operate either as timers or event counters.
In the ‘Timer’ function, the register is incremented every machine cycle. Thus, one can think of it as counting machine cycles. Since a machine cycle consists of six oscillator periods, the count rate is 1¤6 of the oscillator frequency.
In the ‘Counter’ function, the register is incremented in response to a 1-to-0 transition at its corresponding external input pin, T0 or T1. In this function, the external input is sampled once every machine cycle.
When the samples show a high in one cycle and a low in the next cycle, the count is incremented. The new count value appears in the register in the machine cycle following the one in which the transition was detected. Since it takes two machine cycles (12 oscillator periods) for 1-to-0 transition to be recognized, the maximum count rate is 1¤12 of the oscillator frequency. There are no restrictions on the duty cycle of the external input signal, but to ensure that a given level is sampled at least once before it changes, it should be held for at least one full machine cycle. In addition to the ‘Timer’ or ‘Counter’ selection, Timer 0 and Timer 1 have four operating modes from which to select.

• Mode 0
Putting either Timer into Mode 0 makes it look like an 8048 Timer, which is an 8-bit Counter with a fixed divide-by-32 pre scalar. Figure shows Mode 0 operation.

In this mode, the Timer register is configured as a 13-bit register. As the count rolls over from all 1s to all 0s, it sets the Timer interrupt flag TFn. The count input is enabled to the Timer when TRn = 1 and either GATE = 0 or INTn = 1. (Setting GATE = 1 allows the Timer to be controlled by external input INTn, to facilitate pulse width measurements). TRn is a control bit in the Special Function Register TCON (Figure 6). The GATE bit is in the TMOD register.

• Mode 1
Mode 1 is the same as Mode 0, except that all 16 bits of the timer register (THn and TLn) are used.




• Mode 2
Mode 2 configures the Timer register as an 8-bit Counter (TLn) with automatic reloads, as shown in Figure 9. Overflow from TLn not only sets TFn, but also reloads TLn with the contents of THn, which must be preset by software. The reload leaves THn unchanged. Mode 2 operation is the same for Timer 0 and Timer 1.

• Mode 3
When timer 1 is in Mode 3 it is stopped (holds its count). The effect is the same as setting TR1 = 0.
Timer 0 in Mode 3 establishes TL0 and TH0 as two separate 8-bit counters. The logic for Mode 3 and Timer 0 is shown in Figure 10. TL0 uses the Timer 0 control bits: T0C/T, T0GATE, TR0, INT0, and TF0. TH0 is locked into a timer function (counting machine cycles) and takes over the use of TR1 and TF1 from Timer 1. Thus, TH0 now controls the ‘Timer 1’ interrupt.
Mode 3 is provided for applications that require an extra 8-bit timer. With Timer 0 in Mode 3, the P89V51RD2 can look like it has an additional Timer.
Note: When Timer 0 is in Mode 3, Timer 1 can be turned on and off by switching it into and out of its own Mode 3. It can still be used by the serial port as a baud rate generator, or in any application not requiring an interrupt.

• Timer 2
Timer 2 is a 16-bit Timer/Counter which can operate as either an event timer or an event counter, as selected by C/T2 in the special function register T2CON. Timer 2 has four operating modes: Capture, Auto-reload (up or down counting), Clock-out, and Baud Rate Generator which are selected according to Table 17 using T2CON and T2MOD.

• Capture mode
In the Capture Mode there are two options which are selected by bit EXEN2 in T2CON. If EXEN2 = 0 Timer 2 is a 16-bit timer or counter (as selected by C/T2 in T2CON) which upon overflowing sets bit TF2, the Timer 2 overflow bit.

This bit can be used to generate an interrupt (by enabling the Timer 2 interrupt bit in the IEN0 register). If EXEN2 = 1, Timer 2 operates as described above, but with the added feature that a 1- to -0 transition at external input T2EX causes the current value in the Timer 2 registers, TL2 and TH2, to be captured into registers RCAP2L and RCAP2H, respectively.