Newbie-esque problem

Hi All,

I've been lurking around here since July. I've been getting a feel for
whats available, what I might need & what I can afford. The level of
expertise on this board is just awesome & I'd like to thank all those who
generously contribute their time.

I have a teensy problem at the moment & I wonder if I could get some
advice. I want to record the movement of my motorcycle front forks. I have a
recording device (pic microprocessor based) and I want to feed it with
positional information about what the forks are getting up to. I had first
thought about a slide potentiometer but pricey much? Wow, I'm looking to
spend $50 not $500. Resolution wise, analog would be overkill, steps of 100
would be great, steps of 20 would be sufficient.

You guys measure position all the time, admittedly with way more accuracy
than I want, but can you think of a cheapy, rugged (waterproof would be nice
to have) way for me to 'read' the position of my forks ?

Sorry this isn't on topic but you don't have a coffee_lounge for off-topic
posts.

Time is money & money is beer so there's a case of 'the beer of your choice'
for the best answer.

Thanks,

Wilson Logan.


"Beer is good, beer is our friend".