I am looking for what the switch is called and someone who supplies them.
I want a switch that is kind of like a jog switch, it can tell which direction you are turning the switch, CW, or CCW, and it has a click to it so feel when it connects. There are 3 output, a input and two output that momentary based upon the direction you are turning the knob. Commonly example is a frequency knob on a radio, you can turn it and it changes the frequency by a certain amount per click, and you can change how much it changes per click.
The switch can rotate in either direction without a stop.
So you can build something that counts how many contacts in either direction. Kind of like a job switch.
You want an encoder switch. They typically have 4 wires, power, ground, output A, and output B. Digikey as well as other electronic suppliers will have this type of switch. There are various encoding formats and you'll need to look into that. The link below leads to the Digikey site and one sample of switch. There are optical, magnetic, and mechanical sensors as well as detent and no-detent. The switchs themselves don't have stops.
If you want to look over more styles, go the the on-line catalog, switch section, and it starts around page 115 in the switch section.
Green Yellow Cap NO Contact Momentary Switch Station, Yellow Square Button Momentary Contact 2 Pin Tactile Switch 10 Pcs, 12x12x11mm Red Cap Tactile Momentary Contact Tact Switch 20 Pcs, JLXK1-211 Roller Lever Momentary Contact Limit Switch, Momentary Contact Rotary Roller Arm Limit Switch DC220V, TFS-101 AC 10A Momentary Contact Foot Pedal Switch Grn, 1NO 1NC Contact Momentary Double Circuit Enclosed Limit Switch, 250VAC 5A Momentary Contact Non-locking Push Button Switch, 50 Pcs Momentary Contact 4 Pin Miniature Micro Switch, DC 24V Green Lamp Panel Mount Momentary Contact Push Button Switch 5 Pcs, TFS-201 AC 250V 10A Nonslip Surface Momentary Contact Foot Pedal Switch, AC 250V 10A Momentary Contact Foot Pedal Switch Black New, 380V 5A SPST NO Contact Momentary Red Cap Lamp Push Button Switch, 50 Pcs Momentary Contact 4 Pin Miniature Micro Switch, Push Shaft Momentary Contact 1NO 1NC Type Door Switch, 250VAC 3A Momentary Contact Metal Pushbutton Switch, Chicago Keyed Switch-Momentary Contact- 2 Wire, DC 24V White Lamp Panel Mount Momentary Contact Push Button Switch 5 Pcs, DC 24V Green Lamp Panel Mount Momentary Contact Push Button Switch 5 Pcs, Momentary Type Nomally Open Contact 2 Directions Monolever Switch, AC 220V Momentary Contact Red Cap Push Button Switch, DC 24V Yellow Lamp Panel Mount Momentary Contact Push Button Switch 5 Pcs, JLXK1-111 AC 380V Single Roller Lever Momentary Contact Limit Switch New , AC 250V 10A Momentary Contact Foot Pedal Switch Black New, 2NO 2NC Contacts Momentary Push Button Switch Red Lamp, AC 220V FS-2 Gray Momentary Contact Foot Pedal Switch, 1NO 1NC DPST Contact Green Lamp Cap Momentary Push Button Switch AC 220V, Momentary Contact Foot Pedal On Off Switch AC 250V 10A, Square Red Push Button Momentary Contact Switch AC 220V, 36V DC 1NO Contact Momentary Metal Push Button Switch,
