In a method for detecting an operating parameter of a power tool having an internal combustion engine with a cylinder, a piston delimiting a combustion chamber in the cylinder and driving a crankshaft supported rotatably in a crankcase, an intake supplying combustion air to the combustion chamber, an exhaust removing combustion gases from the combustion chamber, and a signal generator driven in rotation by the crankshaft emitting sequential alternating voltage signals, a period duration of the voltage signal is selected to correspond to the n-th portion of a crankshaft revolution with n greater than 2. The n-th portion of the crankshaft revolution provides a crankshaft angle interval. For each crankshaft angle interval at least one information is detected that represents a course plotted against the crankshaft angle. The course is scanned with regard to characteristic features that are correlated with an operating parameter of the power tool.