Frequency converters are common electronic or electromechanical devices, but not in the household sense. You probably won’t find them in an ordinary home, but in an industrial setting they’re commonplace.
Frequency converters are devices that change your alternating current from one frequency to another. They can also change the input and output voltages as well. They are often found within generators or rotary converters (which convert one form of electrical power to another).
Frequency converters change the mains voltages they receive from AC to DC voltages through what are called rectifiers, and then convert the DC voltages back to AC (but with different frequencies) through capacitors.
Frequency converters are used in engineering processes, various industries such as aviation, and even by individual users needing to convert electronic or radio appliances to receive European, Japanese, or other international voltages and frequencies.
How do frequency converters work?
Frequency converters may differ in design and size, but they have basic components. One is the filter, which prevents noise signals generated when the converter is being used. The rectifier, consisting of several diodes (usually four or six), converts the AC current to DC and stores it in an intermediate circuit capacitor through intermittent but regular pulses of current. The capacitor must be charged in order to function properly, and the charge is regulated by a series resistor. Then the inverter changes the DC voltage back to AC with a different frequency. The driver circuits regulate the power in the transistors in the inverter, seeing to it that operations are running smoothly and safely. The frequency converter is controlled overall by a processor.
Typically, frequency converters are two-level voltage source inverters.
Frequency converters are also used to adjust radio frequencies. Frequency converters that are used for the radio are usually smaller and more portable than power frequency converters. Radio converters are necessary if you purchase a radio that has been imported. Its country of origin probably uses a different frequency range from yours, so owners of foreign-made radios need frequency converters that will alter the frequency that the radios receive so that they can listen once more to their stations.
What do frequency converters look like?
Frequency converters range in size to small and portable radio frequency converters to large boxlike power frequency converters that resemble generators or refrigeration units. They are usually large, but technological innovations have made it possible to make smaller frequency converters.
