Resistor Color Code Bands
& Other Component Identification
Resistor Color Code Identification
While these codes are most often associated with resistors, then can also apply to capacitors andother components.
Resistor Color Code Calculator; Resistor Color Code Calculator. This resistor color code calculator is designed to find the resistance and tolerance values of through hole resistors. Resistor Color Code Calculator Resistor Color Code Chart. It appears you have JavaScript disabled within your browser. Functions on this page will not work. Feb 05, 2020 Resistor color codes are something that every electronics hobbyist should remember. The old mnemonic was rather, well, disturbing, and a conscientious person would never recite it. Anyway, on with the better one! Write this down in a.
The standard color coding method for resistors uses a different color to represent each number 0 to 9:black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, gray, white. On a 4 band resistor, the first twobands represent the significant digits. On a 5 and 6 band, the first three bands are the significant digits.The next band represents the multiplier or 'decade'. As in the above 4 band example, the first two bandsare red and purple, representing 2 and 7. The third band is orange, representing 3 meaning 103 or 1000.This gives a value of 27 * 1000, or 27000 Ohms.The gold and silver decade bands divide by a power of 10, allowing for values below 10 Ohms.The 5 and 6 band resistors work exactly the same as the 4 band resistor. They just add one more significant digit.The band after the decade is the tolerance. This tells how accurate the resistance compared to its specification.The 4 band resistor has a gold tolerance, or 5%, meaning that the true value of the resistor could be 5%more or less than 27000 Ohms, allowing values between 25650 to 28350 Ohms.The last band on a 6 band resistor is the temperature coefficient of the resistor, measured in PPM/C orparts per million per degree Centigrade. Brown (100 PPM/C) are the most popular, and will work for mostreasonable temperature conditions. The others are specially designed for temperature critical applications.
Alpha-Numeric Code Identification
With the sizes of resistors and other components shrinking or changing in shape, it is gettingdifficult to fit all of the color bands on a resistor. Therefore, a simpler alphanumeric coding systemis used. This method uses three numbers, sometimes followed by a single letter. The numbers representthe same as the first three bands on a 4 band resistor. On the above SIL network, the 4 and 7 are thesignificant digits and the 3 is the decade, giving 47 x 1000 or 47000 Ohms. The letter after the numbersis the tolerance. The different representations are: M=±20%, K=±10%, J=±5%, G=±2%, F=±1%.
Naming Convention
To simplify the writing of large resistor values, the abbreviations K and M are used for one thousandand one million. To keep the convention standard, R is used to represent 0. Because of problems in seeingthe decimal point in some printed texts, the 3 letters: K M or R are used in place of the decimal point.Thus, a 2,700 Ohm resistor is written 2K7 and a 6.8 Ohm resistor is written 6R8.
The E12 Range
These identify a range of resistors that are know as 'preferred values'. In the E12 range thereare 12 'preferred' or 'basic' resistor values, and all of the others are simply decades of these values:
1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.2, 2.7, 3.3, 3.9, 4.7, 5.6, 6.8 and 8.2
The table below lists every resistor value of the E12 range of preferred values. You will noticethat there are 12 rows containing the basic resistor values, and the columns list the decadevalues thereof. This range most commonly covers standard carbon film resistors, which are notreadily available in values above 10 Megohms - 10M (10 Million Ohms)
1R0 | 10R | 100R | 1K0 | 10K | 100K | 1M0 | 10M |
1R2 | 12R | 120R | 1K2 | 12K | 120K | 1M2 | n/a |
1R5 | 15R | 150R | 1K5 | 15K | 150K | 1M5 | n/a |
1R8 | 18R | 180R | 1K8 | 18K | 180K | 1M8 | n/a |
2R2 | 22R | 220R | 2K2 | 22K | 220K | 2M2 | n/a |
2R7 | 27R | 270R | 2K7 | 27K | 270K | 2M7 | n/a |
3R3 | 33R | 330R | 3K3 | 33K | 330K | 3M3 | n/a |
3R9 | 39R | 390R | 3K9 | 39K | 390K | 3M9 | n/a |
4R7 | 47R | 470R | 4K7 | 47K | 470K | 4M7 | n/a |
5R6 | 56R | 560R | 5K6 | 56K | 56OK | 5M6 | n/a |
6R8 | 68R | 680R | 6K8 | 68K | 680K | 6M8 | n/a |
8R2 | 82R | 820R | 8K2 | 82K | 82OK | 8M2 | n/a |
The E24 Range
The E24 range of preferred values includes all of the E12 values, plus a further 12 to enablethe selection of more precise resistances. In the E24 range the preferred values are:
1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.7, 3.0, 3.3, 3.6, 3.9, 4.3, 4.7,5.1, 5.6, 6.2, 6.8, 7.5, 8.2 and 9.1
Resistor Color Code Saying
The table below lists every resistor value of the E24 range of preferred values. You will noticethat there are 24 rows containing the basic resistor values and the columns to the right listthe decade values thereof. This range most commonly covers metal film resistors which are notreadily available in values above 1 Megohm - 1M0.
1R0 | 10R | 100R | 1K0 | 10K | 100K | 1M0 |
1R1 | 11R | 110R | 1K1 | 11K | 110K | n/a |
1R2 | 12R | 120R | 1K2 | 12K | 120K | n/a |
1R3 | 13R | 130R | 1K3 | 13K | 130K | n/a |
1R5 | 15R | 150R | 1K5 | 15K | 150K | n/a |
1R6 | 16R | 160R | 1K6 | 16K | 160K | n/a |
1R8 | 18R | 180R | 1K8 | 18K | 180K | n/a |
2R0 | 20R | 200R | 2K0 | 20K | 200K | n/a |
2R2 | 22R | 220R | 2K2 | 22K | 220K | n/a |
2R4 | 24R | 240R | 2K4 | 24K | 240K | n/a |
2R7 | 27R | 270R | 2K7 | 27K | 270K | n/a |
3R0 | 30R | 300R | 3K0 | 30K | 300K | n/a |
3R3 | 33R | 330R | 3K3 | 33K | 330K | n/a |
3R6 | 36R | 360R | 3K6 | 36K | 360K | n/a |
3R9 | 39R | 390R | 3K9 | 39K | 390K | n/a |
4R3 | 43R | 430R | 4K3 | 43K | 430K | n/a |
4R7 | 47R | 470R | 4K7 | 47K | 470K | n/a |
5R1 | 51R | 510R | 5K1 | 51K | 510K | n/a |
5R6 | 56R | 560R | 5K6 | 56K | 56OK | n/a |
6R2 | 62R | 620R | 6K2 | 62K | 620K | n/a |
6R8 | 68R | 680R | 6K8 | 68K | 680K | n/a |
7R5 | 75R | 750R | 7K5 | 75K | 750K | n/a |
8R2 | 82R | 820R | 8K2 | 82K | 82OK | n/a |
9R1 | 91R | 910R | 9K1 | 91K | 910K | n/a |
Resistor Color Code
There are also E48 and E96 tables, which have even more values. Resistors in thesegroups are less common and tend to have a better tolerance rating.
Resistor Color Code 5 Band
The table below shows the color codes for the E12 and E24 preferred values. Notice how the first twocolors in each row are the same, and the last color in each column is the same. Each column is a decade,and each row in that column is a different one of the E24 values.