Question DIY linear actuator vs gear motor control

Gear motor control makes sense to me; you typically use a potentiometer to always know it's absolute position. How does it work with typical diy linear actuators? I've seen mention of limit switches and pots that can continuously rotate. As a general rule, can the various motor controllers, such as SMC3 and an arduino, work with either sets on inputs or does it get noticeably more complicated dealing with controlling linear actuators?

I have looked long and hard at the difference between linear actuators and gear motors

there are advantages and disadvantages for both

Linear Actuators
long actuation distances possible
higher relative cost per performance
suitable for flight sims
noisy when ball screws are used

GearMotors
shorter actuation distances
very fast acceleraton and speed possible
low cost vs performance
suitable for driving sims
can be almost silent in operation

most gearmotor actuators use a potentiometer on the output so any backlash in the motor movement is exaggerated - I have recently designed a gearmotor that has an encoder that is directly on the motor. there is no backlash and the motors are completely stable at rest - you can not even tell they are turned on

Linear actuators are a much neater nicer solution but they are complicated and work out quite expensive, definitely worth the effort for a flight sim imo

typically a linear actuator will need an encoder and limit switches for operation

If you are referring using DC motors on Linear actuators, controlled via speed control, then yes, you would need encoder or potentiometer for closed loop position control.

Using Servomotors, you don't need anything, not even limit switches (calibration against hard stop)...

Thanks for all the info. It crossed my mind to use something like the below motor, a 1605 ball screw (or maybe 1204 to better fit inside the conduit and get some more force), abs drain pip, some hardware, steel conduit, 3d printed parts to hold axial alignment, and a u-joint on either end (as apposed to rod ends) to hold rotational alignment. I haven't flushed the idea out yet but at first glance it looks plausible to make it for less than a pgsaw gear motor and they have about the same power so I'd "just" have to get enough mechanical advantage. But, if controlling it is a huge pain in the butt then I'd rather use the gear motor. All that said, having never actually used a motion sim, maybe I'd just be complicating things for nothing.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124460382751

There is always this "open" linear actuator project that has lots of useful information to have a look as well:

https://opensfx.com/