In this exaple to measure angles was used magnetopot as an input. Parts like this are not cheap. I try to do simmilar thing and I wanted to use shaft encoders from old ps2 mouse to measure an angle.
Does anybody know a way to build encoders from mouse parts and count their clicks with arduino?
It's easy with 3-pin scroll encoder from mouse but 24 pulses is not enough for my application.
Or maybe there is a way to modify popular ps2 library and sketches to interface mouse as a pulse counter. In this way I can extract wheel, diode, and sensor from mouse outside and use mouse x-y result to further calculations.
you may have to describe or post a picture of your mouse because these parts are not standardized. I've seen several different mechanisms inside mice.
Why don't you just use a standard rotational encoder? With a simple gear mechanic you can get a very high resolution for a very decent price.
The shaft encoders I've seen designed for telescope work have very high resolution, like 2000-4000 steps and are almost always somewhat expensive. But wait around and see what others have to say.
While I'm sure it would be possible to cut a mouse wheel encoder from the main PCB it would be a seriously fiddly task to do so. Not a practical effort.