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dBm to Watts Calculator

This dBm (decibel milliwatts) Watt Calculator is an online Power conversion tool, which provides you to convert dBm to Watts and calculate Watts from dBm easily. It is more convenient and accurate to use this free RF calculator converting power in dBm to power in watts than converting watts to dBm manually or using Excel table to convert dbm to watts.

dBm to Watts Conversion

Decibel-milliwatt
dBm
To
Watt
W

Power Conversion Formula For dBm TO Watts

Introduction

Professional Electrical Engineers know well about dBm and Watts and converting them manually. However, for Electrical Engineer newbies and beginners, it is very difficult to understand what does dBm mean and how to convert RF dBm to Watts. Therefore, I will simply explain the definition of dBm and Watts and the dBm conversion below.

What does dBm Mean?

Decibel-milliwatt is a unit of measure that indicates a power level, short for dBm. dBm references 1 mW (milliwatt). Compared with dBW, dBm is a more convenient way to measure absolute power due to its capability to express both very small and very large values in a short form. Therefore, dBm is generally used in fiber-optical communication networks, radio and microwave.

What is Watts?

The watt is a power or radiant flux measurement unit. It is defined as a derived unit of (in SI base units) 1 kgm2s3 or, equivalently, 1 joule per second in the International System of Units (SI). It is used to calculate the rate at which energy is transferred.

 

How to convert dBm to Watts Formula?

The formula for converting dBm to watts is as follows:

P(W) = 1W ⋅ 10(P(dBm) / 10) / 1000 = 10((P(dBm)- 30) / 10)

 

With this formula, you can convert Decibel-milliwatt to Watt manually.

 

Example 1: Converting RF Power 20dBm to Watts

P(mW)=1W‧10((20dBm-30)/10)=100W

So, the power of 20 dBm is equal to 100 W

 

Example 2: 10 dBm to watts

P(mW)=1W‧10((10dBm-30)/10)=10W

So, the power of 10 dBm is equal to 10 W

Watts to dBm Conversion Formula

P(dBm) = 10 ⋅ log10 ( 1000 ⋅ P(w) / 1W) = 10 ⋅ log10 (P(w) / 1W) + 30

 

By this Formula, we get know that The power P(dBm) in dBm is equal to 10 times the base 10 logarithm of 1000 times the power P(W) in watts (W) divided by 1 watt (W).So 1W = 30dBm

 

Example 1: Converting RF Power 20dBm to Watts

P(mW)=1W‧10((20dBm-30)/10)=100W

So, the power of 20 dBm is equal to 100 W

 

Example 2: 10 dBm to watts

P(mW)=1W‧10((10dBm-30)/10)=10W

So, the power of 10 dBm is equal to 10 W

Positive dBm to Watts Conversion Chart

Power (dBm)Power (W)
0 dBm0.001 W
1 dBm0.0012589 W
2 dBm0.0015849 W
3 dBm0.0019953 W
4 dBm0.0025119 W
5 dBm0.0031628 W
6 dBm0.0039811 W
7 dBm0.0050119 W
8 dBm0.0063096 W
9 dBm 0.0079433 W
10 dBm0.01 W
20 dBm0.1 W
30 dBm1 W
40 dBm10 W
50 dBm 100 W

 

Negative dBm to Watts Conversion Table

Power (dBm)Power (W)
Power (dBm)Power (W)
Power (dBm)Power (W)
Power (dBm)Power (W)
Power (dBm)Power (W)
-1 dBm794.33 μW
-2 dBm630.96 μW
-3 dBm501.19 μW
-4 dBm398.11 μW
-5 dBm316.23 μW
-6 dBm251.19 μW
-7 dBm199.53 μW
-8 dBm158.49 μW
-9 dBm125.89 μW
-10 dBm100.0 μW
-11 dBm79.43 μW
-12 dBm63.10 μW
-13 dBm50.12 μW
-14 dBm39.81 μW
-15 dBm31.62 μW
-16 dBm25.12 μW
-17 dBm19.95 μW
-18 dBm15.85 μW
-19 dBm12.59 μW
-20 dBm10.0 μW
-21 dBm7.94 μW
-22 dBm6.31 μW
-23 dBm5.01 μW
-24 dBm3.98 μW
-25 dBm3.16 μW
-26 dBm2.51 μW
-27 dBm1.99 μW
-28 dBm1.58 μW
-29 dBm1.26 μW
-30 dBm1.0 μW
-31 dBm794.33 nW
-32 dBm630.96 nW
-33 dBm501.19 nW
-34 dBm398.11 nW
-35 dBm316.23 nW
-36 dBm251.19 nW
-37 dBm199.53 nW
-38 dBm158.49 nW
-39 dBm        125.89 nW
-40 dBm100 nW
-41 dBm79.43  nW
-42 dBm63.10 nW
-43 dBm50.12 nW
-44 dBm39.81 nW
-45 dBm31.62 nW
-46 dBm25.12 nW
-47 dBm19.95 nW
-48 dBm15.85 nW
-49 dBm12.59 nW
-50 dBm10.0 nW
-51 dBm7.94 nW
-52 dBm6.31 nW
-53 dBm5.01 nW
-54 dBm3.98 nW
-55 dBm3.16 nW
-56 dBm2.51 nW
-57 dBm1.99 nW
-58 dBm1.58 nW
-59 dBm1.26 nW
-60 dBm1.0 nW
-61 dBm794.33 pW
-62 dBm630.96 pW
-63 dBm501.19 pW
-64 dBm398.11 pW
-65 dBm316.23 pW
-66 dBm251.19 pW
-67 dBm199.53 pW
-68 dBm158.49 pW
-69 dBm125.89 pW
-70 dBm100 pW
-71 dBm79.43  pW
-72 dBm63.10 pW
-73 dBm50.12 pW
-74 dBm39.81 pW
-75 dBm31.62 pW

 


Frequently Asked Questions

What is a dBm signal strength?

dBm stands for decibels per milliwatt. While dB is the expression of a gain and is dimensionless, dBm meaning is a concrete measurement of the power level. It is used to define signal strength in wire and cables at radio and audio frequencies. dBm is measured is very small values.

Can dBm be positive?

Positive dBm means power greater than 1mw and negative means less than 1mw.

Is a higher or lower dBm better?

Strong signal strength results in more reliable connections and higher speeds. Signal strength is represented in -dBm format (0 to -100). This is the power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power referenced to one milliwatt. The closer the value is to 0, the stronger the signal.

How much dBm is dangerous?

Phone signal strength shows -51 dBm and 31 asu. I've been looking into this for a while and I have not seen levels this high anywhere else. Thinking somewhere above -65 it gets too excellent and it becomes dangerous, especially on the long term.

Is dBm good or bad?

-80 to -89 dBm, then it's generally considered good signal (3 to 4 bars). -90 to -99 dBm, then it's generally considered average signal (2 to 3 bars). -100 to -109 dBm, then it's generally considered poor signal (1 to 2 bars). -110 to -120 dBm, then it's generally considered very poor signal (0 to 1 bar).

What is a watt equal to?

A unit of measure for power, which measures the rate of energy conversion; equal to one joule per second (or 1/746 horsepower); equivalent to one ampere under a pressure of one volt.

How many watts equal a Volt?

1 watt What Are Volts? A volt, according to BIPM, represents the "potential difference between two points of a conducting wire carrying a constant current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between these points is equal to 1 watt." The symbol for volt is "V."

Why is Watt A unit of power?

Watt is the unit of power (symbol: W). The watt unit is named after James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine. One watt is defined as the energy consumption rate of one joule per second. One watt is also defined as the current flow of one ampere with voltage of one volt.

What is dBm in terms of watts?

This tool converts power measurements between units of decibel-milliwatts (dBmW) and watts (W). Decibel-milliwatt.

How do you convert dBm to Watts manually?

dbm to watts conversion for radio, radar and microwaves Decibels are used to represent the ratio of two quantities of power: db = 10 log P1/P0 . In the case of dbm the reference power P0 is 1 milliwatt : dbm = 10 log P1/1mw. Inverting this equation gives the power in terms of the reference power: P1= P010db/10.
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