[sdiy] Nifty Slider/Fader alert

[R. D. Davis]

[warning: grumpy grouch mode on]

Quothe Tim Parkhurst, from writings of Wed, Apr 21, 2004 at 05:43:01PM -0700:
> Just ran across this, and while I don't know if it is immediately applicable
> (I'll bet it is though), this just was too "gee whiz" to pass up.

More like too annoying.  <grumble> 

> http://www.cliffcomponents.com/datasheet/Infinium.pdf
> 
> Basically, it's a digital encoder with both digital and analog outputs. It's
> being pushed as a replacement for slide and fader pots. There is no

Don't you just hate those annoying digital replacements for
potentiometers that one can't adjust "just right"?  For many
applications, pots and slide pots are undoubtedly the most convenient
solutions, yet, there are engineers working hard to replace them with
inconveniences.  Time to draw and quarter some of those engineers, or
at least apply some other type of LART (luser attitude readjustment
tool), what?  :-)

> resistive element, and all mechanicals ride on bushings or bearings, so it
> should have an extremely long lifetime. My favorite part was the mechanical
> design (being a mechanical designer kind of guy). This looks like a really
> nice piece of hardware, but I'll bet it's scary expensive too! Also, I don't
> know if the bit depth is sufficient to prevent stairstepping, but that may
> depend on the particular application.

That's the problem.  Furthermore, what bit depth is sufficient to one
person probably isn't going to be sufficient for someone else.  I'd
rather just be able to replace the real pots when they wear out past
the stage when some CaiLube won't help them anymore.  After all, real
pots are a much simpler and more elegant solution to the problem in
most instances; why bother going 'round Robin Hood's barn with a Rube
Goldberg type of apparatus instead?

Hmmm... remember the "Death to Disco" movement?  Well... who all is
interested in starting a "Death to Digital Audio" movement?  We could
start things off by explaining to large numbers of people how to
beautify their DVDs and CDs: e.g., making their CD and DCD's look nice
and glittery in their microwave ovens... heh heh heh.  :-) :-) :-)

[grumpy grouch mode off]

-- 
Copyright (C) 2004 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals: 
All Rights Reserved            an unnatural belief that we're above Nature & 
                               her other creatures, using dogma to justify such
www.rddavis.org 410-744-4900   beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.