In this tutorial we will see 8051 timers. We will use the 8051 timers to generate a precise delay of 1 sec.

8051 timers/counters

The 8051 has 2 timers/counters.

  • They can be used to generate precise timing, i.e., we can measure time between events. The unit is then called timer.
  • It can also be used to count external events, known as counter.
  • Timer 1 is also used for generating baud rate in serial communication, which we will discuss in the next tutorial

Timer Counter Operation

T0
TH0 TL0
D15 D14 D13 D12 D11 D10 D9 D8 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0
TMOD
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0
Gate C/T M1 M0 Gate C/T M1 M0



Register Operation
T0 Timer 0
T1 Timer 1
TCON Timer Control
TMOD Timer Mode