The resistor with 5 band color code is shown below. The formula for the three-band resistor color code is – 1st digit. In the following four-band resistor, the first color is brown-2, the second color is black-0, the third color is red (multiplier) In the four-band resistor color code, the first two bands denote the resistance values, 1-multiplier band & 1-tolerance band. The resistor with 4 band color code is shown below. If the resistor doesn’t have tolerance then we have to take it as ☒0%. In the same way, if the tolerance is below 2% within a resistor, then this kind of resistor is called a precision resistor.
For example, if the tolerance = 5%, then we can expect 5% of change within the resistance value. So, it is how much we can be expecting for an actual measurement of the resistor. Tolerance can be defined as the error percentage within the resistance value. For gold tolerance, it is ± 5%, and for silver, it is ± 10%. Next, the tolerance value and color are allocated to every tolerance. In the above example, if the multiplier band is silver or gold, the decimal point can be shifted to the left through one otherwise two places So, for the previous example, the resistor value would be 1200Ω or 1.2kΩ. The 3rd band specifies the multiplier (power of 10) which means the two significant bits should be multiplied through the same allocated value for every color like in the earlier step ( if the band color is 2 then you need to multiply it by 2 so 10^2 = 100 otherwise add two zeros. Each color band is assigned with numbers from 0 to 9 and generally, these bands will decode different numbers into a noticeable code.įor instance, in a four-color band resistor, the first two color bands are brown & red, then the values will be 1 & 2. For example in the 4 band resistor, the first two colors denote the most important digits for the value of resistance. There are some simple rules to identify the resistor values. The four band resistor color code can be used to make fewer precision resistors including tolerances of 5%, 10% & 20%. This code stands for various colors like the following The resistor color coding formula is “BB ROY of Great Britain has a very good wife” which denotes the alphabets of BBROYGBVGW. An automatic resistor color code calculator can also be used to determine the resistance values very quickly. The following table helps in specifying the band colors once the values are recognized. The following chart is used to find out the resistance value of the resistor along with tolerance.
Resistor How to Read Resistor Color Code? The resistor color bands range from 3 to 6 where the first two bands specify the value of resistance & the third band is a multiplier. The color bands on the resistor specified the resistance value, rate of tolerance & sometimes failure rates, or the reliability. The power rating of all the resistors can be marked with color bands that rage up to 1 watt. This was invented by the RMA (Radio Manufacturers Association) in the year 1920s. Each resistor has different color bands on it that denote the electrical resistance. These color bands of the resistor are called resistor color codes. This article discusses what is a resistor color code and how to read it with examples What is a Resistor Color Code? So these standard colors specify the rating, value & tolerance. For each small component, a color code is used to indicate the resistance value instead of printed text. So these values can be measured through the color band concept. Each resistor includes a resistance or resistive value that ranges from ohms to milliohms. These are available in different sizes and shapes. Resistors are small electrical components, used in several electrical and electronic circuits to restrict the flow of current within the circuit and also to regenerate voltage drop in several ways.