Now that we know everything about the rotary encoder it is time to put it to use! Wiring вЂ“ Connecting Rotary Encoder to Arduino Each time the knob is rotated by one detent (click) in either direction, the вЂCLKвЂ™ output goes through one cycle of going HIGH and then LOW. This output can be used to determine the direction of rotation.Д¬LK (Output A) is the primary output pulse for determining the amount of rotation. When the knob is pushed, the voltage goes LOW.ДT (Output B) is the same as the CLK output, but it lags the CLK by a 90В° phase shift. SW is the active low push button switch output. VCC is the positive supply voltage, usually 3.3 or 5 Volts. Inside the encoder is a slotted disk connected to the common ground pin C, and two contact pins A and B, as illustrated below. However, rotary encoders are best in situations where you need to know the change in position instead of the exact position. Potentiometers are best in situations where you need to know the exact position of the knob. They can fully rotate without end stops while a potentiometer can rotate only about 3/4 of the circle. Rotary Encoders are the modern digital equivalent of the potentiometer and are more versatile than a potentiometer. The rotary encoder used in this tutorial is of an incremental type. The absolute encoder gives us the exact position of the knob in degrees while the incremental encoder reports how many increments the shaft has moved. There are two types of rotary encoder вЂ“ absolute and incremental.

A rotary encoder is a type of position sensor that converts the angular position (rotation) of a knob into an output signal that is used to determine what direction the knob is being rotated.Дue to their robustness and fine digital control they are used in many applications including robotics, CNC machines and printers.

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