- Type: Linear resistive
- Range: 270degrees rotation (0 to 5V)
- Cost: $1-$5 depending on quality and size
- Available: Everywhere, even radioshack!
These are the most common sensors. 10K-100Kohm is a good value if you can get the pot you want in that range, smaller values take more power, higher values will use more power when connected. These are all different from the "logarithmic"/"non-linear" sensors in that the middle of the sensor is actually in the middle of the range (linear pots are usually denoted with a 'B' marking).
These sensors are best used in the Analog & Digital I/O board: just connect the two ends to the ground and +5V pins and the slider/wiper to the analog port configured as an Analog Input.
- Type: Dual linear resistive
- Range: 90degrees rotation x or y (varies), 2-3V
- Cost: ~$10
- Available: Phidgets, Alltronics, Bent-Tronics
These analog joysticks are really just 2 potentiometers with a 'universal joint' type fitting, as the joystick is pushed around, it turns the two pots. (click on the picture of the underneath for a better sense of how this works. As a result, you should use these just like 2 linear potentiometers, wiring each one up to a different analog sensor input port on an Analog Digital I/O board with the inputs configured as Analog Inputs
These are not supported (yet)!