The Electronic Color Code Explained

For those who have always been confused by the electronic color code, put your worries to rest, as here is a guide to help your understanding. First, the 4-band code is on the wire to mark low precision resistors with 5%, 10% and 20% tolerances. Finding the value will only take a little practice, as there are only a few easy rules to remember when you start.

The first two bands symbolize the most important numbers of the resistance value when you begin the process of decoding the electronic color code. Each color has an assigned value to the numbers between 0 and 9, those colors represent the number value in the electronic color code. Black is 0, brown is 1, red is 2, orange is 3, yellow is 4, green is 5, blue is 6, violet is 7, gray is 8, and white is 9. Thus, a resister with the first two bands being brown and red will have 1 and 2 (12) as their most significant digits.

The second thing you need to remember is that the third band tells you to what power of ten the first two numbers need to be multiplied by. Taking into consideration the resistor that was used in the prior example, the value would be: 12 times 100 equals 1,200 hundred ohms. Please note if the multiplier band is gold or silver, because you would then move the decimal point to the left by one or two places.

The last thing you need to remember is the tolerance band, it will be spaced further away from the other bands. The level of tolerance will also be represented by a color: gold is five percent, and silver is ten percent. When the resistor is a twenty percent resistor it will only have three colored bands because the tolerance band is not present.

Why do we have to learn all of these things anyway, when The resistance value could be written or printed on the body of the resistor? The color code system works because writing or printing on numbers would make them too little for anyone to read. There is also the chance that the markings would come off disappear entirely over a period of time. While the color code can be a complicated thing to remember, especially the color values, most people catch on quickly and see that after some practice they have memorized the chart without needing to check the color coding list. The color code is great tool to learn to use, and after some practice, it is a simple process. Remember these things and you will be an expert in no time.