Engineering Reference
Frequency, Period, dBm and Number-Base Lookup Reference
Derived lookup tables for frequency-period reciprocals, dBm-to-power anchors, and binary, octal, decimal and hexadecimal representations.
Frequency and Period Anchors
| Frequency | Period | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Hz | 1 s | T = 1/f |
| 10 Hz | 100 ms | T = 1/f |
| 100 Hz | 10 ms | T = 1/f |
| 1 kHz | 1 ms | T = 1/f |
| 10 kHz | 100 µs | T = 1/f |
| 1 MHz | 1 µs | T = 1/f |
| 100 MHz | 10 ns | T = 1/f |
| 1 GHz | 1 ns | T = 1/f |
dBm Power Anchors
| dBm | Watts | Convenient value |
|---|---|---|
| -30 | 1.000000e-6 | 0.001 mW |
| -20 | 1.000000e-5 | 0.009999999999999998 mW |
| -10 | 1.000000e-4 | 0.09999999999999999 mW |
| 0 | 1.000000e-3 | 1 mW |
| 10 | 1.000000e-2 | 10 mW |
| 20 | 1.000000e-1 | 100 mW |
| 30 | 1.000000e+0 | 1 W |
| 40 | 1.000000e+1 | 10 W |
Number-Base Anchors
| Decimal | Binary | Octal | Hexadecimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | 111 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | 1000 | 10 | 8 |
| 10 | 1010 | 12 | A |
| 15 | 1111 | 17 | F |
| 16 | 10000 | 20 | 10 |
| 31 | 11111 | 37 | 1F |
| 32 | 100000 | 40 | 20 |
| 127 | 1111111 | 177 | 7F |
| 255 | 11111111 | 377 | FF |
Interpretation Boundaries
SI prefixes scale linearly. Frequency and period are reciprocals. dBm uses a logarithmic 1 mW reference. Number bases change notation rather than magnitude. Signed interpretation additionally requires width and encoding.
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FAQ
How are frequency and period related?
They are reciprocals: T = 1/f and f = 1/T after conversion to base units.
Is frequency-to-period a linear conversion?
No. The quantity changes through a reciprocal relationship.
What is 0 dBm in watts?
0 dBm is 1 milliwatt, or 0.001 watt.
Does adding 10 dB multiply power by ten?
Yes for a power ratio; adding 3.0103 dB doubles power.
What is decimal 255 in hexadecimal?
It is FF hexadecimal and 11111111 binary.
Do number bases change the numeric value?
No. They change representation, not the integer value.
Is dBm a power ratio?
No. dBm is an absolute logarithmic power level referenced to 1 mW.
Why preserve bit width?
Leading zeros and width affect masks, register fields and signed interpretation.