# Color code for resistor?

1. Jun 10, 2014

### Hardik Batra

I want to know color code for this resistor

---> 1KΩ $\pm$ 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)

2. Jun 10, 2014

### Staff: Mentor

Shouldn't it rather be brown, black, red, silver? (10 x 102 ± 10%)

3. Jun 10, 2014

### Hardik Batra

Is it possible for one resistor value there are many color code?

4. Jun 10, 2014

### Staff: Mentor

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. Jun 10, 2014

### Hardik Batra

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: Jun 10, 2014
6. Jun 10, 2014

### Staff: Mentor

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.

7. Jun 10, 2014

### Hardik Batra

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.

8. Jun 10, 2014

### AlephZero

9. Jun 10, 2014

### Staff: Mentor

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. Jun 10, 2014

### cjl

The first and second are wrong because "none" isn't a color and you must have at least 4 bands.

That leaves us with the correct answer, which is your third choice.

11. Jun 10, 2014

### enorbet

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. Jun 11, 2014

### Hardik Batra

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. Jun 11, 2014

### AlephZero

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.

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. Jun 11, 2014

### CWatters

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.