[sdiy] dave smith *instruments*

[Neil Johnson]

Hi,

Interesting discussion.

Tom Wiltshire wrote: 
> I suspect that if you used decent encoders at the same price you'd  
> pay for decent pots, you might get a similar rotational lifespan. I  
> haven't checked though, and being wrong when you haven't checked is  
> not unusual!

I would further this and suggest that for a rotary encoder to equivalently replace N pots then that encoder should cost N times what a pot costs (assuming for the moment that cost is a direct measure of quality).

What I don't get is expecting to replace, say, 30 ALPS pots with a single ALPS rotary encoder built pretty much out of the same materials, and expect that one encoder to last as long as the 30 pots it has replaced.

Ultimately both solutions will endure a certain amount of wear and tear.  If you impose all of that onto one control then expect to pay significantly more for that one control to get the same overall instrument working life, or suffer a considerably shorter working life if you stick to the same-cost product.

Neil
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http://www.njohnson.co.uk