HELP Finding Rotary Encoder

[factory]

FOUND!
It's a german "angle pulse encoder" by EBE
https://www.buerklin.com/en/p/ebe/motion-sensors/48431-03103/75E480/#download
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1572-haefely-16kv-esd-tester-teardown-repair-part-1/msg5115804/#msg5115804

WELL DONE!
Here (location is Germany) cheaper on EBAY:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/325846363879

Doesn't ship to Australia or Austria (+ many other EU countries) but does ship to the US. 

David

[Rdx]

There is this one, and it ships to pretty much everywhere (I think it is the same seller):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325838697537

On the topic of the encoder itself: I assume there must be an actual mechanically moving element inside that switches the square wave to either output depending on its roation direction. I imagine it being a slip ring that gets dragged along switching in either output. Seems like a pretty sketchy and unreliable thing. But hey, at least your software will be simpler if the rotary switch does not make you read A/B signals 

[Peabody]

I was wondering whether this type of encoder might be better than normal ones, at least as far as reading them is concerned.  But of course their physical construction would be more complicated.  But it seems they would be more difficult to deal with when it comes to software debouncing.  The interplay of the two switches in a normal encoder lets you deal with debouncing pretty easily, but with these there's nothing to distinguish a bounce from a real movement.

[EEVblog]

FYI:

[fmashockie]

Thanks for tearing it down Dave! Really neat.  I am not a big fan of that design.  It just seems too easy for those actuators to get bent out of shape (as it did in your case).  And yep makes perfect sense why the contact cleaner did nothing!