variable number circuit and components

[jay8580]

Hi all.
Before I ask my question I'll list a few things about me so you have a rough idea of my electronics knowledge (or rather lack of) with the hope that your replies don't go straight over my head.
I can solder, I am no expert but it works when I do it.
I have re-flow soldered in the past but only high power leds to star boards.
I have a basic understanding of what I would call 'the most common components' - resistors, capacitors, diodes etc. but know virtually nothing about chips.
I have not made or had made any PCBs.
NOT, AND, IF, NOR - I understand them whilst reading about them and how they work in the simplest form but I forget it all almost straight away and have no idea how to put them into a practical circuit.
I have used relays and incorporated them into 'circuits' (I built a cheap ROV a few years ago following instructions on the web).
I have completed a small number of electronic projects over the years but have pretty much always followed instructions.

I won't list any more as hopefully you've now got an idea about how little I know.

A while back I made a very simple and crude range-finder for target shooting using a laser pointer that was fitted to a scope and 'zeroed' at a known range. When finding a distance, if the laser was off zero I would adjust it's angle slightly up or down to place the dot on or near the cross-hairs of the scope. Attached to the rear end of the laser was a short rod which (depending on the angle of the laser) closed a circuit to a corresponding LED which was labelled either 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 yards, so as the angle was adjusted a different part of the circuit was closed and therefore lit a different LED.
If possible (and cheap enough) I would like to make a smaller better version, with a small display giving ranges from 10 to 75 yards preferably in 1 yard increments. I have looked at 2 bit 7 segment LED displays which would be perfect. Now, if I wanted to turn a dial to adjust the angle of the laser and I connected (with gears) the dial to something like a variable resistor, is it possible for the variable resistor or similar to change the digits on the LED display? If it is possible, what components would I need, would it be cheap and what would the approximate size of the circuitry be? The final question, if I get stuck could somebody draw me a quick circuit diagram for it, pretty please?

Many thanks for reading this guys, and thanks in advance for any help.
Jay.

[KilowattLaser]

If you are doing it in increments, you could use a rotary switch and wire up the display with that, or you could go with a PICAXE and a rotary encoder to drive the display.