This article applies to the IOtech DaqBoard3000 PCI series, DaqBoard3000 USB series and the PersonalDaq3000 series.
Counter/encoder data acts very much like analog data in that it is possible to scale the data to different levels, save the data right along side the analog file data and even trigger or start the acquisition based on count levels. For this reason the developers of the IOtech DASYLab driver support felt it appropriate to put the Counter Input module inside the Analog Input selection. Of course, this leads to confusion because traditionally the Input/Output section has a Counter Input module.
As said, the counter inputs can be found under the Analog Input selection so the traditional Counter Input is grayed out. To place a counter module onto the worksheet, select Modules->Input/Output->Driver->Analog Input.When the mouse is click to drop the module onto the screen, a dialog box will open with three or more selections - choose Direct Enhanced Counter Input.
The selection will provide basic counting features such as totalizing, counts per scan, frequency etc.
If you have quad encoders, then the counter functionality must be change to handle encoders that use two or more channels. To do this access the Hardware Setup->Driver dialog, select the counter node and the Properties button - choose an encoder option.
After changing to a new channel configuration the existing counter input module found on the worksheet is invalid and will need to be replaced with a new one that is able to handle encoders.