3 ms·

>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 longe

>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?

eksu 5mo ago
Surface Dial is a good hardware target.
parl_match 5mo ago
some elgato stream deck models have knobs. 3Dconnexion also still around
- Hamuko 5mo ago
  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/galleon-100-sd-built-in-stream-deck/ https://www.elgato.com/us/en/explorer/products/stream-deck/g...
lukeh 5mo ago
Microsoft Surface Dial is nice. You'll also need to write a driver...
- jauntywundrkind 5mo ago
  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 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.
ThrowawayR2 5mo ago
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 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31702940
Rebelgecko 5mo ago
I don't have one, but Ploopy's knob is intriguing (https://ploopy.co/knob/ 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
jrmg 5mo ago
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-IKIg0IdY9&si=uJ-nUxir4WjVr-Oq https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYK5tmZIBWtHYt4w8Y6P6ba-I...
gglanzani 5mo ago
I have this and it’s great https://binepad.com/products/bnk9 https://binepad.com/products/bnk9 Customization is possible https://blog.lanzani.nl/2025/customizing-the-binepad-bnk9-firmware/ https://blog.lanzani.nl/2025/customizing-the-binepad-bnk9-fi...
Taewoong1378 5mo ago
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.

>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?

eksu 5mo ago

Surface Dial is a good hardware target.

parl_match 5mo ago

some elgato stream deck models have knobs. 3Dconnexion also still around

Hamuko 5mo ago
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/galleon-100-sd-built-in-stream-deck/ https://www.elgato.com/us/en/explorer/products/stream-deck/g...

lukeh 5mo ago

Microsoft Surface Dial is nice. You'll also need to write a driver...

jauntywundrkind 5mo ago
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 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.

ThrowawayR2 5mo ago

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 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31702940

Rebelgecko 5mo ago

I don't have one, but Ploopy's knob is intriguing (https://ploopy.co/knob/ 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

jrmg 5mo ago

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-IKIg0IdY9&si=uJ-nUxir4WjVr-Oq https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYK5tmZIBWtHYt4w8Y6P6ba-I...

gglanzani 5mo ago

I have this and it’s great https://binepad.com/products/bnk9 https://binepad.com/products/bnk9 Customization is possible https://blog.lanzani.nl/2025/customizing-the-binepad-bnk9-firmware/ https://blog.lanzani.nl/2025/customizing-the-binepad-bnk9-fi...

Taewoong1378 5mo ago

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.