Frequency Converter

1. Enter the value you want to convert.
2. Choose the from unit.
3. Choose the to unit.
4. Read the result and the conversion rate.

Here is what each result means:

Frequency is how often something repeats in a given time. For a wave or a signal it is the number of cycles each second; for a spinning part it is the number of turns each minute. It appears everywhere from radio and Wi-Fi to processor speeds, musical notes and engine revolutions, which is why it is measured in several units.

The SI unit is the hertz, one cycle per second. Because many frequencies are very high, larger units are common: kilohertz for audio, megahertz for radio, and gigahertz for Wi-Fi and processors. A 2.4 gigahertz signal cycles 2.4 billion times a second. Rotational speed, meanwhile, is often given in revolutions per minute, or rpm, where one rpm is one sixtieth of a hertz.

This converter bridges every unit through the hertz. It multiplies your value by the hertz in its unit, then divides by the hertz in the target unit. Because each unit has a fixed value in hertz, the conversions are exact and never change.

The prefixes follow the usual metric pattern: kilo is a thousand, mega a million, giga a billion and tera a trillion. So moving from gigahertz to megahertz simply multiplies by a thousand, which is why a 2.4 gigahertz band is the same as 2,400 megahertz.

It converts through the hertz, the SI unit of frequency.

1. Your value is multiplied by its unit's value in hertz.
2. That gives the frequency in hertz, the common base.
3. Dividing by the target unit's value in hertz gives the result.

For the wave physics, see the frequency and wavelength calculator and the angle converter.

Convert 2.4 gigahertz to megahertz.

Result: 2.4 GHz is 2,400 MHz, or 2,400,000,000 hertz, since giga is a thousand times mega. An engine at 3,000 rpm turns at 50 hertz, because 3,000 divided by 60 is 50.

Every unit has a fixed value in hertz.

The hertz prefixes climb by factors of a thousand. Revolutions per minute is the odd one out, since it counts per minute rather than per second, so it is one sixtieth of a hertz.

Different fields sit at different points on the scale.

Seeing a frequency in a familiar unit gives it meaning. A 50 hertz mains supply, a 440 hertz tuning note, a 2.4 gigahertz Wi-Fi band and a 3,000 rpm engine are all frequencies, each written in the unit its field finds natural.

The Two Units

The ratio between the from-unit and to-unit sets the result; each has a fixed value in hertz.

Per Second or per Minute

Rpm counts per minute, so converting to or from hertz uses a factor of 60.

The Prefix

Kilo, mega, giga and tera each add a factor of a thousand.

Electronics and Radio

Convert a signal or band between hertz, kilohertz, megahertz and gigahertz.

Computing

Read a processor or memory speed in different units.

Mechanics

Turn an engine speed in rpm into hertz, or the reverse.

1. Forgetting the Factor of 60 for Rpm

Rpm is per minute. To get hertz, divide by 60; to go back, multiply by 60.

2. Slipping a Prefix

Kilo, mega and giga each differ by a thousand. Dropping one is a factor-of-1,000 error.

3. Confusing Frequency and Wavelength

They are related but different; wavelength needs the wave speed as well.

4. Wrong Direction

Check which unit is the from and which is the to; swapping them inverts the result.

5. Rounding Too Early

Convert first, then round, so small differences do not build up.

Conversions use fixed factors relative to the hertz.

2,400 MHz. Gigahertz is a thousand times megahertz, so 2.4 gigahertz is 2,400 megahertz, or 2,400,000,000 hertz.

Divide by 1,000. So 5,000 hertz is 5 kilohertz. To go the other way, multiply kilohertz by 1,000.

The hertz, one cycle per second. Larger frequencies use kilohertz, megahertz, gigahertz and terahertz.

Divide by 60, since rpm counts revolutions per minute and hertz counts per second. So 3,000 rpm is 50 hertz.

Common Wi-Fi bands are 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz. That is 2,400 and 5,000 megahertz, or billions of cycles per second.

Terahertz, a trillion hertz, appears in advanced imaging and research, and describes the frequency of some light. It is a thousand times gigahertz.

Yes, of a kind. It measures how often something rotates, in revolutions per minute. Dividing by 60 gives the frequency in hertz.

Frequency is cycles per second; wavelength is the distance of one cycle. They are linked by the wave speed, so converting between them needs that speed.

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere, unless you choose Save, which keeps the result only on this device.

• Hertz (Wikipedia).
• Frequency (Wikipedia).
• Revolutions per minute (Wikipedia).