Multimeters with duty cycle measurement

Duty cycle

— measurement of the duty cycle of the electrical signal. This parameter is relevant primarily for a uniform pulse signal with a graph that has a rectangular or close to rectangular shape. Duty cycle is the ratio of the repetition period (pulse plus break between pulses) to the duration of a single pulse. For example, in a meander (see "Functions / Features — Meander Generator"), pulses and breaks have the same duration, respectively, the repetition period is twice as long as the pulse and the duty cycle is 2.

In English-language sources, it is customary, on the contrary, to divide the pulse duration by the repetition period; the resulting result (as a percentage) is called the fill factor. Do not confuse this indicator with duty cycle: although both indicators describe the same thing, they do it in different ways.