A digital displacement transducer to provide a digital output linear related to the displacement of a reference surface of an object. An eight track tape unit is coded with information related to displacements of 1/256 of an inch and applied to the reference surface. Means are then provided to assume the coded information of the tape unit; the means are of lesser coercivity than the tape unit. The information means is pulsed so that the information contained is the same, and a read out head is provided to read out which information was shifted, and thereby indicate the position of the reference surface of the object. A method is also provided to encode the information in the information means, switch the information therein, and obtain a read out.