Color code for resistor?

In summary: So, if you have a 1k resistor, it might be brown, black, or red. The first significant digit is always the first color band. To find out which one it is, just count the number of bands.
  • #1
Hardik Batra
130
5
I want to know color code for this resistor

---> 1KΩ [itex]\pm[/itex] 10%

I have check in two sites. This sites showed me different color code for this resistor value.

Which one is right i don't know i am confused!


http://www.digikey.com/us/en/mkt/calculators/4-band-resistors.html
(this sites show me brown,orange and silver color)

http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/ArticleID/120/Color-Code-for-Resistors.aspx
(this sites show me black,brown,orange and silver color)
 
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  • #2
Shouldn't it rather be brown, black, red, silver? (10 x 102 ± 10%)
 
  • #3
DrClaude said:
Shouldn't it rather be brown, black, red, silver? (10 x 102 ± 10%)

Is it possible for one resistor value there are many color code?
 
  • #4
Hardik Batra said:
Is it possible for one resistor value there are many color code?
The way I learned it is
first significant digit = 1 = brown
second significant digit = 0 = black
multiplier = 102 = red

and that the first digit can never be 0, so it can't start with black. That way, there is only one possibility.
 
  • #5
DrClaude said:
The way I learned it is
first significant digit = 1 = brown
second significant digit = 0 = black
multiplier = 102 = red

and that the first digit can never be 0, so it can't start with black. That way, there is only one possibility.

can we take
first significant digit = 0= black
second significant digit = 1 = brown
multiplier = 103 = orange

or
first digit can never be 0, but you can use this color.

first significant digit = 1= brown
multiplier = 103 = orange

can we ignore 2nd significant digit?
 
Last edited:
  • #6
Hardik Batra said:
can we take
first significant digit = 0= black
second significant digit = 1 = brown
multiplier = 103 = orange

or
first digit can never be 0, but you can use this color.

first significant digit = 1= brown
multiplier = 103 = orange

can we ignore 2nd significant digit?
As far as I understand it, no, both of these are not acceptable. There is a minimum of four bands (including tolerance) and the first can't be black.
 
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  • #7
DrClaude said:
As far as I understand it, no, both of these are not acceptable. There is a minimum of four bands (including tolerance) and the first can't be black.


You have seen this site.
http://www.digikey.com/us/en/mkt/calculators/4-band-resistors.html
http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/ArticleID/120/Color-Code-for-Resistors.aspx

brown,none ,red and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
none,brown,orange and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
brown,black ,red and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
black,brown,orange and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
This is wrong?
which one is correct.
 
  • #9
Hardik Batra said:
You have seen this site.
http://www.digikey.com/us/en/mkt/calculators/4-band-resistors.html
http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/ArticleID/120/Color-Code-for-Resistors.aspx

brown,none ,red and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
none,brown,orange and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
brown,black ,red and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
black,brown,orange and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
This is wrong?
which one is correct.

Come on, I already told you what the correct one was and why. Just because you found a web-applet that allows you to input nonsense doesn't mean that all these possibilities are valid.
 
  • #10
Hardik Batra said:
You have seen this site.
http://www.digikey.com/us/en/mkt/calculators/4-band-resistors.html
http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/ArticleID/120/Color-Code-for-Resistors.aspx

brown,none ,red and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
none,brown,orange and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
brown,black ,red and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
black,brown,orange and silver also give us 1 kΩ resistor.
This is wrong?
which one is correct.

The first and second are wrong because "none" isn't a color and you must have at least 4 bands.
The fourth one is wrong because you can't start with black.

That leaves us with the correct answer, which is your third choice.
 
  • #11
AFAIK component color coding has been added to but not changed since it began shortly after the turn of the previous century. My first Electronics Instructor was a Naval Radio operator and maintainer who taught us a (cleaned up) version of the military mnemonic for codes -

Bad Boys Race Our Young Girls Behind Victory Garden Walls

Obviously it stuck and it also works provided you note the number of bands to determine if additional values beyond resistance are listed. Commonly these are the Tolerance bands, but the first 3 bands are always Ohms.
 
  • #12
There is another question about this topic.
If there is one diode and 4 color band are design with different color.
And i want to decide the resistor value.
How i know the 1st significant figure is started from which point(means which is the first color band at right hand side one or left hand side)?
 
  • #13
Hardik Batra said:
If there is one diode and 4 color band are design with different color.

I'm not sure what you mean, but some small diodes have the part number coded as color bands. For example the common 1N4148 may have yellow brown yellow grey bands. Color bands or other markings are always at the cathode end of the diode.

And i want to decide the resistor value.
How i know the 1st significant figure is started from which point(means which is the first color band at right hand side one or left hand side)?

Most resistors are made with values from a standard sequence of values. See http://www.logwell.com/tech/components/resistor_values.html. Nearly all the resistors you will see in real life have values from the E24 series.

If you try to read the bands from the wrong end, either the code is invalid (e.g. the first band can never be silver or gold), or you get a non-standard value, or the value is too small or too big to make any sense. Nearly all resistor values in electronic circuits are between 10Ω and 10MΩ.

If a resistor really does have a non-standard value, it will probably be printed as a number, not color coded.
 
  • #14
Hardik Batra said:
I want to know color code for this resistor

---> 1KΩ [itex]\pm[/itex] 10%

Many decades ago when most resistors were 10% or 5% this would be a Brown, Black, Red, Silver (eg four bands).

As manufacturing tolerance levels improved it became necessary to add more bands (more significant figures) so you could tell the difference. From some places you might order a 10% part but be sold a 2% part which would be Brown, Black, Black, Brown, Red.
 

What is the color code for resistors?

The color code for resistors is a system of colored bands that are used to represent the resistance value and tolerance of a resistor. This system uses different colors to represent different numbers and multipliers.

How many bands are there in the color code for resistors?

There are typically four or five bands in the color code for resistors. Four bands are used for resistors with a tolerance of 20%, while five bands are used for resistors with a tolerance of 1%, 2%, or 5%.

What do the colors in the resistor color code represent?

The colors in the resistor color code represent numbers and multipliers. Each color has a specific value assigned to it. The first two or three bands represent the significant digits, the third or fourth band represents the multiplier, and the last band represents the tolerance.

What is the significance of the gold and silver bands in the resistor color code?

The gold and silver bands in the resistor color code represent the tolerance of the resistor. Gold represents a tolerance of +/- 5% and silver represents a tolerance of +/- 10%. These bands are important in determining the accuracy of the resistance value.

How do I read the resistor color code?

To read the resistor color code, start from the band closest to one end and work your way across to the other end. Use a resistor color code chart to determine the value of each color band. The first two or three bands represent the significant digits, the third or fourth band represents the multiplier, and the last band represents the tolerance.

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