What is the formula for converting frequency to approximate wavelength in meters?

The formula for converting frequency to approximate wavelength in meters fundamentally relies on the relationship between the speed of light, frequency, and wavelength. The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 300,000,000 meters per second (or 300 million meters per second, which can be rounded to 300 when using MHz for frequency).

To convert frequency (in megahertz) to wavelength (in meters), the formula used is derived from the equation ( \text{Speed} = \text{Frequency} \times \text{Wavelength} ). Rearranging this gives ( \text{Wavelength} = \frac{\text{Speed}}{\text{Frequency}} ).

When the frequency is expressed in megahertz, the speed of light in meters per second can be simplified to 300, with the understanding that 1 MHz is equal to (10^6) Hz. Therefore, when you take 300 and divide it by the frequency in megahertz, you effectively calculate the wavelength in meters.

This approach simplifies the calculation and provides a quick means for amateur technicians to convert frequency values for practical usage in amateur radio and other applications.