I know all about the normal type of mechanical and optical rotary encoders that need a processor to work out what direction it's being turned and provide a pulsed output using quadrature or Gray code.
I'm trying to find something simpler than this that involves just switches and no other electronics.Maybe some sort of sprag clutch or one way bearing that lets only one toothed wheel turn when you turn it clockwise and only a second one when you turn it anti clockwise,these toothed wheels would operate normally open microswitches positioned around the edges of each of the one way wheels.Oh and of course it has to turn continuously without any stops.
There has to be something like this say in old fashioned radios (maybe aircraft) where the frequency selection dial(s) worked in this way,before their direction of rotation could be detected electronically?
I'm trying to find something simpler than this that involves just switches and no other electronics.Maybe some sort of sprag clutch or one way bearing that lets only one toothed wheel turn when you turn it clockwise and only a second one when you turn it anti clockwise,these toothed wheels would operate normally open microswitches positioned around the edges of each of the one way wheels.Oh and of course it has to turn continuously without any stops.
There has to be something like this say in old fashioned radios (maybe aircraft) where the frequency selection dial(s) worked in this way,before their direction of rotation could be detected electronically?