Can you please explain me all the naming of the rotaries?I keep reading "grey" or other things, which i don't know.I know 2bit, 4bit, but don't know what is grey and what is black :)Thanks

These are the common types:BinaryGraySerialThe naming convention is used to describe how the output signal is encoded. Binary is typically 2-bit, Gray can output an encoded signal in 2-bit or 4-bit and serial is...well a serial stream of binary data.All of the above come in two package types, optical and mechanical except for serial which I've only seen in optical. One uses IR light and the other uses mechanical contacts. I'm sure you can guess which one lasts longer (and costs alot more).Hope this clears things up.-Leo

Thanks for the info.I have another question since you seem well informed.I have rotaries that complete half the cycle for each step.I mean:standard rotary1 step = 00 01 11 10 00my rotaries1 step = 00 01 11How can i know such differences when buying?

The only way to know for sure is by looking at the spec sheets that show where the detents (step) are wrt the output pulses. Most indicate the type of encoding used.According to your dia above, the 'standard' type look like gray code. I've never seen your rotary type. What does step 2 look like?

It's the same as the "standard" type, just that instead of being one step, it's two steps.With one "normal" cycle, i get two steps instead of one.I don't know which one is normal, just that once i've been told that mine were strange because of this, so i assumed they were not "normal"...I always thought it was normal to operate that way :(

>I don't know which one is normal, just that once i've been>told that mine were strange because of this, so i assumed they>were not "normal"...I once told a guy from Rome that these were 'strange'...must have been me that told you that. :-hahStandard 2-bit gray rotaries send a complete cycle per step (as far as I know) and yours splits this step in half. So a standard gray decoder would skip the middle step in this case. It can be decoded, but it's not a common standard that I've seen.

@LeoOf what sort are the rotaries that can be wired directly to a interface like FSBUS (so no need to use REDEC pcb's) ?If I understand the above thread right (I hope) , they have to be of the binary sort?regardsNorbert

Do a search on this forum for "Knitter" switch or rotary. The topic comes up from time to time. Someone recently posted a link to Alps rotaries which are similar to Knitter and also don't require a decoder.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=8943&page=3

>I once told a guy from Rome that these were 'strange'...must>have been me that told you that. :-hahYes, must have been you that guy :-mad :-bigangelHe he :)

Well...those 'half grays' are still strange IMO. :-hah