power factor

[Vardhan]

is it possible to measure the power factor using analog discovery

[NAEastland]

Hey Vardhan,

I am not aware of any built in means for the Analog Discovery to determine the power factor of a circuit, as in you hit some button in WaveForms and the power factor pops out. There are ways of determining the power factor still though. For example if you had calculated the impedance of a circuit, like if you had put together some arbitrary circuit of passive components, you could use the math channel of the oscilloscope to determine the rms current of the circut. From the phase difference of the rms voltage and this math channel current, you could determine a power factor. 

This is just a specific case though, and obviously only works if the impedance is known. The issue is that the Analog Discovery is not able to measure current directly. Depending on what your needs are, there are a few options you can browse on our new website, including a current sensor and power monitor if you need to do more than just make a calculation with your measurements.

Regards,

Nate