I am looking for a special potentiometer. The item i am looking for is often found on volume controls on mini radios and CD players. When you turn the volume down as far as it goes, you can feel the wheel click and the radio turns off.
the click is sometimes called a detent too. like a pot for a balance control has a center detent between left and right, it's accomplished the same way, with a little addition to the shaft of the pot - could also be done with a notch in the shaft, a spring and a small bearing. when the notch aligns with the bearing, the spring pushes it in, slightly locking the shaft, so you have 'feedback'
the click is sometimes called a detent too. like a pot for a balance control has a center detent between left and right, it's accomplished the same way, with a little addition to the shaft of the pot - could also be done with a notch in the shaft, a spring and a small bearing. when the notch aligns with the bearing, the spring pushes it in, slightly locking the shaft, so you have 'feedback'
**broken link removed** has a list of different types of resistance elements. You can probably buy any of them with a switch mounted on them.
I don't know what kind of element the one in the picture has. I found it by doing a Google image search for "pot with switch".