Abstract: A sequence of or controls pulse-transfer stages supplies or controls pulses between a start limit and a stop limit in the sequence. The device whose position is to be encoded selects and controls a responsive means in a limiting stage. Each stage has a pulse-control device responsive to the selector or in itself incorporates the selector-responsive pulse-control function, being arranged to serve in different embodiments as a start limit or as a stop limit. In one example, the start limit is the initial stage of the sequence and the selected stage is the stop limit. In an alternative, the selected stage is the start limit and a pulse-transfer stage at or near the end of the sequence is the stop limit. An encoding counter counts pulses between the start and stop limits. The pulse-control devices have a prescribed physical arrangement, which is a circle in the case of a shaft position encoder, so that the counter provides a code that represents the position of a shaft.