Would be great if it could do other things, like be a volume knob, or do media play/pause, given that scrolling and mouse button press seem like things you already have a mouse to do?
LilyGo/TTGo also has some interesting knobs with some unusual features features (force feedback or LCD touchscreen on top of the knob, depending on model) but again I don't have firsthand experience and these might take some DIY
Surprised Loupedeck hasn't come up here. The Live and CT both have weighted main dials with real damping — which is what made the PowerMate feel different from a regular rotary encoder, more than the software integration ever did. Pricier than most of what's been mentioned, but the closest I've found to the tactile feel.
Everything in the sub-$50 range (Drok, generic Aliexpress encoders, etc.) works fine for mapping to volume or scroll, but they all feel like plastic clicky knobs. Fine for utility, not for fidgeting.
There was a poster on HN a while ago that recommended¹ the Drok USB volume knob because it can be reconfigured to send keystrokes or mouse actions. Just Google for "configure drok usb volume control knob" for instructions. I reconfigured mine to send mouse scroll events for scrolling through documents.
Some are calling it the most obvious trend of all computing. And that was before the agentic age super put its finger on the cosmic scales of justice+hacking.
I have two of these, near-permanently affixed to my Zynthian .. but now I think I want another one for the desktop. Anyone know of similar devices available currently?
I have one of those, but never used it too much—if the button got pressed while my Mac was asleep, it immediately woke up and kernel panicked. I don’t know if there was something odd about my machine or my particular PowerMate or what?
Would be great if it could do other things, like be a volume knob, or do media play/pause, given that scrolling and mouse button press seem like things you already have a mouse to do?
This begs to be able to send MIDI events!
I was wondering whether BetterTouchTool would support the PowerMate, and I sure didn't get disappointed: https://community.folivora.ai/t/griffin-powermate/30169
Disclosure: I have no idea whether this would still work, and I have no way to find out.
Yippy! I feel like I'm 15 years younger
This is awesome. I know I have one someplace that I stopped using because of lack of drivers, now all I need is to find it :)
>Of course, modern controllers exist that offer many more literal bells and whistles...
Anyone have a favorite 'modern controller' for those of us who no longer have a PowerMate?
I have this and it’s great https://binepad.com/products/bnk9
Customization is possible https://blog.lanzani.nl/2025/customizing-the-binepad-bnk9-fi...
I don't have one, but Ploopy's knob is intriguing (https://ploopy.co/knob/).
LilyGo/TTGo also has some interesting knobs with some unusual features features (force feedback or LCD touchscreen on top of the knob, depending on model) but again I don't have firsthand experience and these might take some DIY
Not commercial, but “Engineer Bo” on YouTube has an interesting series about building his own very professional looking scroll knob:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYK5tmZIBWtHYt4w8Y6P6ba-I...
Surprised Loupedeck hasn't come up here. The Live and CT both have weighted main dials with real damping — which is what made the PowerMate feel different from a regular rotary encoder, more than the software integration ever did. Pricier than most of what's been mentioned, but the closest I've found to the tactile feel. Everything in the sub-$50 range (Drok, generic Aliexpress encoders, etc.) works fine for mapping to volume or scroll, but they all feel like plastic clicky knobs. Fine for utility, not for fidgeting.
There was a poster on HN a while ago that recommended¹ the Drok USB volume knob because it can be reconfigured to send keystrokes or mouse actions. Just Google for "configure drok usb volume control knob" for instructions. I reconfigured mine to send mouse scroll events for scrolling through documents.
¹ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31702940
Microsoft Surface Dial is nice. You'll also need to write a driver...
As usual there is very very very good Linux support for a device (this device, the MS Surface Dial), better than anywhere else. https://github.com/daniel5151/surface-dial-linux
Some are calling it the most obvious trend of all computing. And that was before the agentic age super put its finger on the cosmic scales of justice+hacking.
Surface Dial is a good hardware target.
some elgato stream deck models have knobs. 3Dconnexion also still around
Elgato and Corsair have also made a keyboard that has the Stream Deck buttons + knobs on it.
https://www.elgato.com/us/en/explorer/products/stream-deck/g...
I have one of these all I need to do is find it.
Literally thinking the same thing. I have one somewhere... Haven't seen it in twenty years
I have two of these, near-permanently affixed to my Zynthian .. but now I think I want another one for the desktop. Anyone know of similar devices available currently?
I love this. PowerMate was the ultimate fidget tool when not scrolling, editing, etc.
I have one of these and now all I need to do is find a reason to use the Mac.
Damn I always wanted to one of these! So cool
I check eBay from time to time, they are usually very expensive.
I have one of those, but never used it too much—if the button got pressed while my Mac was asleep, it immediately woke up and kernel panicked. I don’t know if there was something odd about my machine or my particular PowerMate or what?
Lol I wrote a new driver for the bluetooth one a few months ago.
Curse you! Now I have to go clean out the attic to find mine.