The CompactRIO controller has four general-purpose 32-bit counter/timers and one frequency generator. The general-purpose counter/timers can be used for many measurement and pulse generation applications. The following figure shows the CompactRIO controller Counter 0 and the frequency generator. All four counters on the CompactRIO controller are identical.

Figure 50. Controller Counter 0 and Frequency Generator


Counters have eight input signals, although in most applications only a few inputs are used.

For information about connecting counter signals, refer to Default Counter/Timer Routing.

Each counter has a FIFO that can be used for buffered acquisition and generation. Each counter also contains an embedded counter (Embedded Ctr n) for use in what are traditionally two-counter measurements and generations. The embedded counters cannot be programmed independent of the main counter; signals from the embedded counters are not routable.