The 74HC163; 74HCT163 is a synchronous presettable binary counter with an internal look-head carry. Synchronous operation is provided by having all flip-flops clocked simultaneously on the positive-going edge of the clock (CP). The outputs (Q0 to Q3) of the counters may be preset to a HIGH or LOW. A LOW at the parallel enable input (PE) disables the counting action. It causes the data at the data inputs (D0 to D3) to be loaded into the counter on the positive-going edge of the clock. Preset takes place regardless of the levels at count enable inputs (CEP and CET). A LOW at the master reset input (MR) sets Q0 to Q3 LOW after the next positive-going transition on the clock input (CP). This action occurs regardless of the levels at input pins PE, CET and CEP. This synchronous reset feature enables the designer to modify the maximum count with only one external NAND gate. The look-ahead carry simplifies serial cascading of the counters. Both CEP and CET must be HIGH to count. The CET input is fed forward to enable the terminal count output (TC). The TC output thus enabled will produce a HIGH output pulse of a duration approximately equal to a HIGH output of Q0. This pulse can be used to enable the next cascaded stage. Inputs include clamp diodes. This enables the use of current limiting resistors to interface inputs to voltages in excess of V_CC.

The CP to TC propagation delay and CEP to CP set-up time determine the maximum clock frequency for the cascaded counters according to the following formula:

f_max= (1) / (t_{P (max)}(CP to TC) + t_SU(CEP to CP) )