A quién sirve — Measuring how long a cycle lasts on the chart you trade. Without a reliable period, envelopes, averages and FLD are tuned to noise.
The cyclic period (P, wavelength) is the time (or bar count) between two consecutive troughs of the same cycle — crest-to-crest is valid on symmetric components. It is the scale that calibrates Hurst analysis on each instrument.
In plain terms — «How often» the low (or high) repeats. Not a universal fixed number: measured per market.
Nominal vs measured
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Nominal period | Standard Hurst scale (~10, ~20, ~40, ~80 bars…) |
| Current wavelength | Effective period measured low-to-low |
| Trading cycle | Dominant cycle chosen to trade |
Nominal cycles are a compass; wavelength on the instrument can diverge via compression or stretch (time translation).
How to measure
- Constant-width envelope → count bars between valid lows
- Phasing on nested cycles → 2:1 period consistency
- Spectrum / FFT → dominant frequency estimate (watch noise)
Period feeds half-span average spans, curvilinear envelope construction and FLD offset (½·P).
Error típico — Copying period from another symbol or timeframe without recalibration — signals and targets out of phase.
Ejemplo — Three troughs spaced 38, 41 and 39 bars → wavelength ~40 bars; FLD for that cycle shifts forward 20 bars.
Card
- Units: bars, days, weeks (consistent with TF).
- Recalibrate: after regime shift or volatility shock.
- Pair with: cycle phase for timing.