Chapter 11 VirtualBench-Counter
© National Instruments Corporation 11-5 Getting Started with VirtualBench
4. Measure phase difference. This feature works only with devices that 
have NI-TIO based counters.
a. Connect the first signal (A) to the AUX_LINE/UP_DOWN input 
of the counter that you specified in Step 1 and connect the second 
signal (B) to the GATE input of the counter you specified in 
Step 1. Refer to the user manual of your DAQ device for details or 
select Windows»Connections on the front panel for the correct 
pin numbers.
b. Click the Phase Difference button in the measurement mode 
selector. VirtualBench-Counter continuously acquires and 
displays the measurement in the display window.
c. If the counter display shows Timeout, confirm that the amount of 
time to take the number of samples you want is not greater than 
your measurement time. If the counter display shows Overflow, 
confirm that your measurement time is short enough to limit the 
number of edges the counter receives to less than its maximum 
value (2
number of bits
).
d. Click Run to stop the measurement.
5. Measure frequency ratio. This feature works with devices with either 
DAQ-STC or NI-TIO based counters.
a. Connect the first signal (A) to the SOURCE input of the counter 
that you specified in Step 1 and connect the second signal (B) to 
the SOURCE input of the other counter in the counter pair of the 
counter that you specified in Step 1. Refer to the user manual of 
your DAQ device for details or select Windows»Connections on 
the front panel for the correct pin numbers.
b. Click the Frequency Ratio button in the measurement mode 
selector. VirtualBench-Counter continuously acquires and 
displays the measurement in the display window.
c. If the counter display shows Timeout, confirm that the amount of 
time to take the number of samples you want is not greater than 
your measurement time. If the counter display shows Overflow, 
confirm that your measurement time is short enough to limit the 
number of edges the counter receives to less than its maximum 
value (2
number of bits
).
d. Click Run to stop the measurement.
6. Measure position or speed. This feature works with devices with either 
DAQ-STC or NI-TIO based counters.
a. Connect the A Channel of the Encoder to the SOURCE input of 
the counter that you specified in Step 1 and connect the B Channel