----- Original Message ----- From: "Jinx" Subject: Re: [EE] Need a rotary encoder > Part # P7531, NZ$5.01 (US$3.30). This seems very low > compared to most if not all encoder prices at Digikey and RS DigiKey has some Panasonic encoders for under a buck. Most of the mechanical encoders are under three bucks. There is a huge range of price and features at DigiKey. Opticals are quite a bit more expensive. I think Craig Johnson, AA0ZZ, may still have some of the nice Clarostat opticals on his web site for about 15. One thing to watch out for, depending on your app. Most of the low priced mechanical encoders have detents which vary from fairly soft to downright annoying. No two manufacturers seem to use the same units for describing the detents, so you have no idea what a particular encoder will feel like until you get your hands on it. The Panasonic encoders tend to have a very soft detent which, on some models, does feel quite nice. On others it feels sloppy. The Grayhills tend to have a very positive, and loud, click, which I personally find quite annoying. The relationship between the gray code and the detents is not always obvious from the catalog. Generally, if the detents line up with the gray code you can deal with it in software. On some of the Panasonic models, the pulse is actualy stretched a bit at the detent to ensure that each detent has the same code. On the flip side, the contact bounce spec on some of the Panasonics is awful. However, on some encoders, the pulses aren't integrally related to the detents. Depending on the app, these can be very hard to use. (I happens I am currently writing the Elmer 160 lesson on encoders so I've been doing a bit of research!) --McD _______________________________________________ http://www.piclist.com View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist