Enter the feedback resistance, feedback capacitance, and the number of RC feedback stages into the calculator to determine the oscillator frequency.

Oscillator Frequency Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the frequency of an RC oscillator.

f = 1 / [ 2*pi*R*C*Sqrt(2*N) ]
  • Where f is the frequency (hertz)
  • R is the feedback resistance (ohms)
  • C is the feedback capacitance (Farads)
  • N is the number of feedback states

Oscillator Frequency Definition

What is an oscillator frequency? An oscillator frequency is typically used to describe the frequency in hertz that an RC or RLC oscillator resonates at.

Example Problem

How to calculate an oscillator frequency?

  1. Fist, determine the feedback resistance.

    For this example, we are looking at a simple RC oscillator with a feedback resistance of 20 ohms.

  2. Next, determine the feedback capacitance.

    The feedback capacitance of the same oscillator is found to be 35 Farads.

  3. Next, determine the number of feedback stages.

    In this example, the oscillator has 3 feedback stages.

  4. Finally, calculate the frequency.

    Using the formula above, the oscillator frequency is found be:
    1/ [2*3.14159*20*35*SQRT(2*3) ] = 0.000129 hertz.

oscillator frequency calculator
oscillator frequency formula