I've recently started having a problem with my rotary encoder thinking it's turning clockwise no matter what direction it's actually being turned in. It never seems to do anything on its own; it just misinterprets counterclockwise motion. Also, it usually only does this the first time I play with it after boot. Once it starts working correctly, it doesn't seem to happen again until a reboot, probably with a significant amount of time powered off. It also seems like lateral pressure on the knob has some effect on the issue, but I can't quite figure out what effect.

Is there likely to be any way to resolve this without replacing the encoder?

Heh.. heading up this way again any time soon?

Weren't there some changes for encoder interpretation in Mark's kernel?

Yes, there are some. But I suspect Bitt already has Hijack installed.

Ah- just checking that my memory still serves. Thanks!
I'm sure that Bitt would allow nothing less than the latest and greatest version of Hijack on his trusty empeg.

Your symptoms make it sound like you've got a loose solder joint somewhere in the display board, perhaps near the encoder itself. Perhaps an encoder replacement isn't needed.

It's a complete PITA to try to solder around the encoder, though, due to the lack of clearances involved. But I'd certainly try touching up solder joints in that area.