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How to Convert mV to dBV

Although telecommunications engineers originally defined the decibel to measure power losses in telephone cables, it has since become an almost universal unit. The music industry adopted the decibel to express the absolute value of a voltage referenced to a given standard, usually 1 volt (dBV). Using decibels for voltage measurement is convenient as values from millivolts (mV) to kilovolts (kV) are easily compared. Conveniently, the logarithmic nature of the decibel scale matches the range of human hearing closely.

Things You'll Need

  • Scientific calculator
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Instructions

    • 1

      Record the value in mV that you need to convert to dBV. Divide this value by 1,000 to convert it to volts. Note down the answer. For example, if the value is 125 mV, the answer will be 0.125 volt.

    • 2

      Use the scientific calculator to work out the logarithm of your answer to base 10. Unless you started with more than 1,000 mV this will be a negative number. For example, if your answer was 0.125 the logarithm will be minus 0.9031. Make a note of the value of the logarithm.

    • 3

      Multiply the logarithmic value by 20 to obtain a result in dBV. For example, if the logarithm was minus 0.9031 your result will be minus 18.062 dBV, which is 125 mV converted to dBV.

    • 4

      Check your calculations and log your result. If your original value was less than 1,000 mV the result should be negative. If it was more than 1,000 mV you should have a positive result.

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