"Dave Platt" wrote in message
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In article om,

Digi-Key catalog lists quite a few such (all with their own shafts,
ready for panel mounting), but they aren't cheap. Mechanical rotary
encoders are less expensive, but less precise (fewer counts per
revolution) and possibly not as reliable or long-lived since they use
mechanical contacts.

Depending on the application, mechanical encoders are pretty good, and
getting better. As a tuning control, in most cases something on the order
of 50 pulses per rev is pretty useable and avaliable in a mechanical
encoder. Much more than that and you are getting into the optical encoders
which do get kind of pricey. They -feel- really nice, though.

Most of the mechanical encoders Digikey carries are detented, so watch out
for that. The few that aren't are pretty decent. Mechanical encoders are
typically under $5, while the opticals are more like $50. But the nice
ball-bearing feel might be worth it, depending on your project.

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