I know that if it is ÷16 for example that, that port puts out pulses(an equal low and high) at 1/16 of clock frequency. My question is this:
On a Ripple counter at least, does the pulse start at low or high? The reason I ask is because I notice it turns high at half of what you(or at least I) would expect the count to be. For example.
Q4 turns on at a count of 8 and off at 16 and then on again at 24 at off at 32.
Q5 on at 16 off at 32 on at 42 off at 64.
If you only look at the high-to-low transitions, ignoring the low-to-high transitions, you'll get the correct divisions. (Q4 = high-to-low after 16 clocks). Since the chip responds to the high-to-low transition on the clock pin, it is working the way you'd expect.
In case you're wondering how a ripple counter works:
Think of a how a toggle flip-flop works. When the input goes from high to low, the output of the flip-flop changes states (low to high, or high to low). The flip flop ignores the low-to-high transition on the input; it only changes on the high-to-low. So, the output switches states at half the rate of the input (a divide by 2 counter).
This is output Q1 (hypothetical) on your 4060 chip. Now, connect that output (Q1) to the input of another toggle flip-flop. Now that 2nd flip flop (Q2) only changes states when Q1 goes from high to low. So you're taking something that was divided by 2 and dividing it by 2 again. The end result is Q2 is the clock signal divided by 4. Each additional stage (flip-flop) divides by 2 yet again.
The 4060 has 14 such flip flops cascaded together, thus it gives you a 14 bit counter. The outputs Q1-14 divide by 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, and 8192 respectively. (Q1-3 aren't available on the 4060, so the minimum division available on this chip is 16).
Ripple counters are a basic way to create a binary counter. If you construct one out of separate flip flops, and connect the complementary-Q outputs to the inputs of the next stage (or invert the output before passing it to the next input), you create a ripple counter that counts
backwards. That's the principle behind binary up/down counters.