Color-coding is a method used to indicate the resistive value, tolerance, and temperature coefficient of resistors with low wattage rating because of their small size. Color bands are used because they can be easily and cheaply printed on a small electronic component. Color-coding is also used for capacitors, inductors and diodes.
When the resistor body surface is large enough, as in large wattage resistors, the resistance value, tolerance, and wattage are usually printed on the body of the resistor. Surface mounted resistors (SMD) use another coding system that uses alphanumeric codes printed on its surface instead of color codes.
In a three-band resistor, the first two bands represent the first two significant digits followed by one band for the multiplier. Since no tolerance band is available, the tolerance will always be 20%.
In a four-band resistor, which is the most common, the first two bands also represent the first two significant digits. The third band represents the multiplier. The fourth band represents the tolerance.
Tolerance is the percentage of error between the actual measured resistive value and the stated value. This is due to the manufacturing process and it is expressed as a percentage of its preferred value
A zero-ohm resistor is a resistor having a single black band. Its resistance is approximately zero and it is used to connect two traces on a printed circuit board (PCB). Is it used in automated PCB assembly where using the same equipment used to mount other resistors is easier than using a separate machine to install a wire jumper.
The following are tools to calculate the ohm value and tolerance based on resistor color codes, the total resistance of a group of resistors in parallel or in series, and the resistance of a conductor based on size and conductivity.
An electronic color code is a code that is used to specify the ratings of certain electrical components, such as the resistance in Ohms of a resistor. Electronic color codes are also used to rate capacitors, inductors, diodes, and other electronic components, but are most typically used for resistors. Only resistors are addressed by this calculator.
The color coding for resistors is an international standard that is defined in IEC 60062. The resistor color code shown in the table below involves various colors that represent significant figures, multiplier, tolerance, reliability, and temperature coefficient. Which of these the color refers to is dependent on the position of the color band on the resistor. In a typical four-band resistor, there is a spacing between the third and the fourth band to indicate how the resistor should be read (from left to right, with the lone band after the spacing being the right-most band). In the explanation below, a four-band resistor (the one specifically shown below) will be used. Other possible resistor variations will be described after.
In a typical four-band resistor, the first and second bands represent significant figures. For this example, refer to the figure above with a green, red, blue, and gold band. Using the table provided below, the green band represents the number 5, and the red band is 2.
The third, blue band, is the multiplier. Using the table, the multiplier is thus 1,000,000. This multiplier is multiplied by the significant figures determined from the previous bands, in this case 52, resulting in a value of 52,000,000 Ω, or 52 MΩ.
The fourth band is not always present, but when it is, represents tolerance. This is a percentage by which the resistor value can vary. The gold band in this example indicates a tolerance of 5%, which can be represented by the letter J. This means that the value 52 MΩ can vary by up to 5% in either direction, so the value of the resistor is 49.4 MΩ - 54.6 MΩ.
Coded components have at least three bands: two significant figure bands and a multiplier, but there are other possible variations. For example, components that are made to military specifications are typically four-band resistors that may have a fifth band that indicates the reliability of the resistor in terms of failure rate percentage per 1000 hours of service. It is also possible to have a 5th band that is the temperature coefficient, which indicates the change in resistance of the component as a function of ambient temperature in terms of ppm/K.
More commonly, there are five-band resistors that are more precise due to a third significant figure band. This shifts the position of the multiplier and tolerance band into the 4th and 5th position as compared to a typical four-band resistor.
On the most precise of resistors, a 6th band may be present. The first three bands would be the significant figure bands, the 4th the multiplier, the 5th the tolerance, and the 6th could be either reliability or temperature coefficient. There are also other possible variations, but these are some of the more common configurations.
Resistors are circuit elements that impart electrical resistance. While circuits can be highly complicated, and there are many different ways in which resistors can be arranged in a circuit, resistors in complex circuits can typically be broken down and classified as being connected in series or in parallel.
This tool is used to decode information for color banded axial lead resistors. Select the number of bands, then their colors to determine the value and tolerance of the resistors or view all resistors DigiKey has to offer.
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The online resistor calculator is a tool by Utmel Electronic used to calculate resistor values for 4 band, 5 band, and 6 band resistors, in the range of ohms, Kilo Ohms, and Mega Ohms typically. And this resistance calculator is developed to calculate the color code using the resistor color codes on their surface.Just select the right color corresponding to each column and you can get the Resistor value on the right of the calculator immediately.
Take a 4-band resistor as the example, 10k ohm resistor color code 4 band is: Brown-Black-Orange-Red. So the 1st band of Color: Brown, 2nd band: Black, Multiplier: Orange and Tolerance: Red. Thus, the output of resistor value is 10K ohms 2%. And the below picture shows you the 100 Ohm Resistor Color Code for 4-band resistors.
Resistors are usually used in electrical components with the aim of restricting the flow of electric current. They are usually tiny components with wire leads protruding from all sides. Resistors are special electronic components in circuits. It is made with the purpose of a precise quantity of electrical resistance.
The range of resistors may be from less than 1 Ohm (Ω) to over 20 mega Ohms (Ω) or 20 million Ohms (Ω). And there are two types of resistors: variable resistors and fixed resistors. A variable resistor can provide different values of resistance, however, the fixed resistor just has a single value. Meanwhile, there are 4 main classes of fixed resistors: carbon-composition resistors, Film resistors, wire wound resistors, and surface-mount resistors.
Generally, the carbon-composition resistors have 3 to 6 resistor color bands. And the below electrical color code resistor chart shows you the resistor strips of the 3 band type, 4 band type, 5 and 6 band type. Compared with a 4-band resistor, a 5-band type is more precise because of its third significant digit. And a 6-band resistor has the 6th band, which is a temperature coefficient band.
From the following Resistor color code chart Calculator, we know that each color for resistor represents a number if it's found on 6-band and 5-band type from 1st to 3rd band or a 4-band resistor from the 1st to 2nd. And it is a multiplier if it is located on the 4th band of 5-band and 6-band type or the 3rd band of a 4-band resistor. You can get the tolerance values of a resistor on the 4th band for the 4-band type according to the 4 band resistor color code chart and the 5th for the 5-band and 6-band type through the below resistor color chart 5 band and 6 band. A 6-band type resistor has the 6th band, which shows you the temperature coefficient. And this value indicates how much the actual resistance value of this 6-band resistor changes when the temperature changes.
The easiest way to identify a resistor Color code is to know which colors represent the most significant digits. The following steps will guide you in reading a resistor color code.
1) Look for the colored bands on the resistor's body.
2) Determine which of these colors have a leading role in representing numbers.
3) Identify the numbers represented by these colors and their position.
4) Read off each of these digits from left to right on the band where it's located.
Resistors are available in four, five, or more color bands, with a four-band color code being the most common. The first and second bands represent the first and second significant digits of the ohm value, respectively, while the third band represents the decimal multiplier. After that, there's a slight gap to help you distinguish between the component's left and right sides, followed by the fourth band, which indicates the resistor's tolerance.
IEC 60062 defines the color coding for resistors as an international standard. Different colors reflect significant figures, multiplier, resistance, reliability, and temperature coefficient in the resistor color code shown in the table below. The location of the color band on the resistor determines which of these the color refers to. There is a spacing between the third and fourth bands in a standard four-band resistor to show how the resistor should be read (from left to right, with the lone band after the spacing being the right-most band).