What is a decade counter and how high can it count?
1 Answer
A decade counter is a type of digital electronic circuit that counts in binary-coded decimal (BCD) format. It's primarily used to count from 0 to 9 and then reset back to 0, effectively creating a sequence that corresponds to the decimal digits. This counter is often implemented using flip-flop circuits, which are basic building blocks of digital logic circuits.
Each flip-flop represents one digit in the BCD code, and the combination of flip-flop outputs represents the current count. When the count reaches 9 (1001 in binary), the next clock pulse causes the counter to reset to 0 (0000 in binary), and the cycle starts over again.
A decade counter is called so because it counts through a sequence of ten numbers, which covers the decimal digits from 0 to 9. Its maximum count is 9. The counter can't naturally count beyond 9 since it's designed to reset at that point. If you need to count higher than 9, you would need to use additional circuitry or cascaded counters. For example, two cascaded decade counters can count from 0 to 99, and further cascading can allow you to count even higher.
Each flip-flop represents one digit in the BCD code, and the combination of flip-flop outputs represents the current count. When the count reaches 9 (1001 in binary), the next clock pulse causes the counter to reset to 0 (0000 in binary), and the cycle starts over again.
A decade counter is called so because it counts through a sequence of ten numbers, which covers the decimal digits from 0 to 9. Its maximum count is 9. The counter can't naturally count beyond 9 since it's designed to reset at that point. If you need to count higher than 9, you would need to use additional circuitry or cascaded counters. For example, two cascaded decade counters can count from 0 to 99, and further cascading can allow you to count even higher.