How Do You Convert MHz to Hz?
Multiply megahertz by 1,000,000 to get hertz. The formula is: Hz = MHz x 1,000,000. Move the decimal point six places to the right.
Maya Singh calculates timer values for a microcontroller project. Her board has a 16 MHz crystal oscillator: 16 x 1,000,000 = 16,000,000 Hz. To generate a 1 kHz interrupt, she sets the timer prescaler to 16,000,000 / 1,000 = 16,000. Each timer tick is 1/16,000,000 of a second = 62.5 nanoseconds.
CPU Clock Speed Reference
| Device / CPU | MHz | Hz |
|---|---|---|
| Original Game Boy (1989) | 4.19 MHz | 4,190,000 Hz |
| Original PlayStation (1994) | 33.87 MHz | 33,870,000 Hz |
| Pentium III (1999) | 500 MHz | 500,000,000 Hz |
| Pentium 4 (2004) | 3,400 MHz | 3,400,000,000 Hz |
| Modern laptop CPU | 3,500 MHz | 3,500,000,000 Hz |
| Modern desktop CPU | 5,000 MHz | 5,000,000,000 Hz |
| Arduino Uno | 16 MHz | 16,000,000 Hz |
| Raspberry Pi 4 | 1,500 MHz | 1,500,000,000 Hz |
Practical Applications
Radio Tuning
Tom Brewer calibrates his ham radio transceiver. The 20-meter amateur band spans 14.000-14.350 MHz (14,000,000-14,350,000 Hz). His radio tunes in 10 Hz steps, so the 350 kHz bandwidth = 35,000 possible frequencies. He tunes to 14.225 MHz (14,225,000 Hz) for voice contacts.
Oscilloscope Measurements
Dana Kowalski hires an electrician who measures AC power with an oscilloscope. The display shows 60 Hz (0.00006 MHz) for US mains power. He then checks an inverter output showing 60.1 Hz — close enough for motors but slightly off. Converting: the difference is 0.1 Hz = 0.0000001 MHz, barely visible on the scope but enough to cause long-term clock drift.
Satellite Communications
Priya Patel writes about 5G cellular technology. The mmWave 5G band uses 24,000-40,000 MHz (24-40 GHz). At 28,000 MHz = 28,000,000,000 Hz, the signal oscillates 28 billion times per second. She explains to readers why these high frequencies provide massive bandwidth but limited range.