Help please - Linear Scale only homing

The best solution if you don't have an absolute linear encoder (few do) would be to obtain one with the index mark close to one end.

I know all of mine are near the middle but this makes sense because they were intended for use with a DRO unit on a manual machine. In that application, an index near the middle of the travel allows you to discover it after power up without having to crank the handle all the way to the extreme end of travel.

Actually I'm glad my scales have an index signal. I have already seen linear scales without index signal.