The 8253 and 8254 are general purpose timer chips, each containing three 16bit timers.
8253 vs 8254
8253 and 8254 are basically the same: both are pin-compatible and software compatible. The difference is that the 8254 supports higher clock frequencies, and it includes a readback feature for the control registers (which are write-only on 8253).
Registers
Timer Registers
- 8253/8254 Timer 0 Register (R/W)
- 8253/8254 Timer 1 Register (R/W)
- 8253/8254 Timer 2 Register (R/W)
These ports allow to access three decrementing 16bit timers. Assuming that the corresponding Control Registers are set to "LSB-then-MSB", the 16bit reload values (aka divider values) are written in two 8bit fractions:
1st write: LSB of reload value 2nd write: MSB of reload value
For the CPC RS232 interfaces, the baudrates are calculated as such:
Baudrate = 2MHz / reload / prescaler
Where "prescaler" is an additional divider in the DART or 6850 chip. Eg.
300 baud = 2MHz / 01A0h / 16 9600 baud = 2MHz / 000Dh / 16
Note: Reading from the Timer registers does probably return the current counter values rather than the reload value (?) also not sure if/how it freezes between LSB and MSB reads, and how Control bits 4-5 are working exactly.
Control Registers
- 8253/8254 Timer 0-2 Control Registers (W)
This port allows to configure three write-only 6bit registers: Bit6-7 specify which of the registers is to be updated, Bit0-5 contain the new value for that register.
7-6 Counter Number (0..2=Counter 0..2, and 8253: 3=Reserved, or 8254: 3=Readback)
5-4 Read/Load (0=Latching?, 1=LSB only, 2=MSB only, 3=LSB-then-MSB)
3-1 Mode
0=Interrupt on Terminal Count
1=Programmable One-Shot
2=Rate Generator (short edge, low for 1 period of input clock)
3=Rate Generator (square wave, low for 2nd half of counter range)
4=Software Triggered Strobe
5=Hardware Triggered Strobe
6=Same as Mode 2
7=Same as Mode 3
0 BCD (0=normal, 1=bcd)
When used as RS232 Baudrate Generator (ie. as in the CPC), all three registers should be set to square-wave non-bcd lsb-then-msb (ie. write values 36h, 76h, and B6h to this port).
Usage in CPC interfaces
Amstrad Serial Interface
Used by standard Amstrad Serial Interface (and compatible) RS232 interfaces, mapped to Ports:
FBDCh Amstrad RS323 8253 Baudrate Timer 0 Channel A TX Clock (R/W) FBDDh Amstrad RS323 8253 Baudrate Timer 1 Channel A RX Clock (R/W) FBDEh Amstrad RS323 8253 Baudrate Timer 2 Channel B RX/TX Clock (R/W) FBDFh Amstrad RS323 8253 Baudrate Timer 0-2 Control Registers (W) Clock Input seems to be 2MHz, Clock output goes to a Z80-DART/Z80-SIO chip, Clock Output may be further divided by 1, 16, 32, or 64 in the DART chip
MHT Ingenieros RS232 para Amstrad
Used by RS-232 para Amstrad from MHT Ingenieros, mapped to Ports:
FBDCh - MHT RS232 8253 timer 0 (transmit baudrate) FBDDh - MHT RS232 8253 timer 1 (receive baudrate) FBDEh - MHT RS232 8253 timer 2 (used as 1ms timer) FBDFh - MHT RS232 8253 timer 0-2 control Clock Input is unknown, Clock output goes to a 8251 USART chip, Clock Output may be further divided by 1, 16, or 64 in the USART chip
Schneiderware V/24 Interface
Used by Schneiderware V/24 Interface, mapped to ports:
F9ECh (or F9E8h) Schneiderware V/24 8253 chip Timer 0 (TX clock) F9EDh (or F9E9h) Schneiderware V/24 8253 chip Timer 1 (RX clock) F9EEh (or F9EAh) Schneiderware V/24 8253 chip Timer 2 (unused) F9EFh (or F9EBh) Schneiderware V/24 8253 chip Timer Control Clock input is jumper select-able: 2MHz (default), or 1MHz. Clock output goes to a 8251 USART chip, Clock Output may be further divided by 1, 16, or 64 in the USART chip
KDS Serial Interface
Also used by KDS Serial Interface, mapped to other Ports, and RX/TX exchanged:
FBE8h KDS RS232 8253 Baudrate Timer 0 (RX Clock) (R/W) FBE9h KDS RS232 8253 Baudrate Timer 1 (TX Clock) (R/W) FBEAh KDS RS232 8253 Baudrate Timer 2 (not used) (R/W) FBEBh KDS RS232 8253 Baudrate Timer 0-2 Control Registers (W) Clock Input seems to be 2MHz, Clock output goes to a 6850 ACIA chip, Clock Output may be further divided by 1, 16, or 64 in the 6850 chip
Aleste 520EX Serial Interface and Color Palette Swap
Also used by Aleste 520EX CPC clone:
FABCh ExtPort: Forward PPI Port A to 8253 Baudrate Timer 0 (RX Clock) (W) FABDh ExtPort: Forward PPI Port A to 8253 Baudrate Timer 1 (TX Clock) (W) FABEh ExtPort: Forward PPI Port A to 8253 ColorSet Timer 2 (FUTURE) (W) FABFh ExtPort: Forward PPI Port A to 8253 Timer 0-2 Control Registers (W) Clock Input for RX/TX is 4MHz, Clock output goes to a 8251 USART chip, Clock Output may be further divided by 1, 16, or 64 in the 8251 chip, Clock Input for FUTURE is HSYNC, Clock output selects 1st/2nd color set, the FUTURE clock is restarted via GATE=CRTC's "CURSOR" output, All registers are write-only (the 8251 chips /RD is wired to VCC)
- Usage: Set PPI Port A to output. Write Data to PPI Port A (F4XXh), then set/clear the CS53 bit with two writes to Port (FABCh+n), where n is the 8253 register index.
- Note: According to the Aleste schematic, clock input is 4MHZ (16MHZ/4), and it uses a russian 8253 clone. Not sure if that is correct...? Theoretically the 8253 supports only max 2.6MHZ, and anything faster requires a 8254, not a 8253.
Magic Sound Board for Aleste 520EX
The Magic Sound Board for Aleste 520EX contains two 8254 chips:
F9D4h Magic Sound Board - 2nd 8254 - Timer 0 (DMA Channel 3) (W) F9D5h Magic Sound Board - 2nd 8254 - Timer 1 (DAC Clock) (W) F9D6h Magic Sound Board - 2nd 8254 - Timer 2 (not used) (W) F9D7h Magic Sound Board - 2nd 8254 - Timer 0-2 Control (W) F9D8h Magic Sound Board - 1st 8254 - Timer 0 (DMA Channel 0) (W) F9D9h Magic Sound Board - 1st 8254 - Timer 1 (DMA Channel 1) (W) F9DAh Magic Sound Board - 1st 8254 - Timer 2 (DMA Channel 2) (W) F9DBh Magic Sound Board - 1st 8254 - Timer 0-2 Control (W) Clock source for all six timers is (inverted) 4MHz from expansion port.
Datasheets
- Media:8253.pdf - 8253 Datasheet (slower clock, write-only control registers)
- Media:8254.pdf - 8254 Datasheet (faster clock, read/write-able control registers)