In article .com,
wrote:

Does anyone know of a cheap and accurate shaft encoder assembly,
suitable for that "professional rig feel" for spindle position to
frequency encoding. I'm thinking about some sort of integrated unit
that contains the encoder, code wheel, assembly, bearings etc.

HP used to make very nice optical rotary encoders - e.g. the HEDS-7500
"digital potentiometer" (which has its own shaft and mounting), and
the HEDS-5000 series optical encoders (which mount on an existing
shaft). These are from a 1989 catalog, and the current versions or
equivalents are no doubt different. www.newark.com lists a bunch of
them.

I would not call them "cheap".

According to Digikey's catalog, Grayhill and Clarostat and Iwatsu and
Bourns all make similar rotary optical encoders with reasonably high
pulse-per-revolution counts (128 or 256).

It looks to me as if you're probably facing a price of $40 - $60 per
piece, in single quantities, for any commercially-made rotary encoder
of this caliber.

For anything very much less expensive, you'll probably have to
homebrew something (e.g. a couple of simple interruption-type
photosensors, and a code wheel laserprinted on a piece of plastic) and
mount it on an existing spindle/shaft.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!