Encoders Vs Potentiometers Dissertation research

Other Hardware General Electronics
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I want to implement a preset/recall system in to the front panel of my hardware and wondered it if would

I have no idea what that means...

I understand that with encoders they are relative so the position of the knob would not affect things in the same way a pot would.

Pots are analog encoders are digital. That probably doesn't make any difference if the output of a pot is connected to an Arduino ADC input.

Pots have "mechanical memory". If you set the volume control pot on your radio to 50% and turn power off, the next time you turn on the radio the volume is still at 50%. If you want the same behavior with an encoder, you have to store the information in non-volatile memory.

The lack of mechanical memory means that [u]pointer knobs[/u] or markings on the front panel don't make sense.

Most pots rotate 270 degrees and most rotary encoders rotate more than 360 degrees and can be rotated continuously. This means you can get more (mechanical) resolution from an encoder. You can also do tricks in software such as "acceleration" where fast encoder rotation makes a bigger difference than slow rotation (higher resolution when you move it slowly for finer adjustments).