From the MAKE Flickr pool
Using just a basic pot, small spring, and pushbutton switch, Danwagoner created a compact combo push-pot -
An idea I had for making one of my projects more user friendly and cut down on interfaces (buttons, etc). Completely made out of stuff I had laying around. Turn to scroll through, push down to select, and only one knob to deal with.
Nice idea – looks like a good way to simplify cramped layouts.
I’ve done this before, it’s certainly a good hack because it costs about 1/10th as much as a pushbutton potentiometer. However I found you lose some precision on the pot because it tends to turn/wiggle in the mounting hole. I mitigated this by gluing a few spacers around the perimeter of the pot and securing it to the case with screws through them, leaving enough play that the button could still depress.