Model Boat Mayhem

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length.
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Resistor color code  (Read 2916 times)

Doc

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 327
  • Location: Oklahoma USA
Resistor color code
« on: July 11, 2007, 04:10:07 pm »

For those that already know anything about electronics this certainly won't be 'new'.  You will see that it has been slightly 'revised', but it's the same old thing it's always been.

There are two ways of remembering the color codes for resistors.  The first is by making a color chart of each color's value and tattooing it on your nose (if you aren't far sighted).  The second way is by memorizing a phrase every 'electronics' person in the world has heard before, "Bad Boys 'Revere' Our Young Girls But Violet Gives Willingly".  Which stands for, black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, gray, white, which corresponds to 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.  The first two colors are the first two digits of the resistance value.  The third color is the number of zeros after the first two digits.  There's also a fourth color which is the tolerance value, how much the thing can be 'off' from the stated value.  There are two of those tolerance colors/values, one is gold and I can't remember the second one.  Also cn't remember what the gold stands for, but whatever it is, it's close enough for government work, sort of.
 - 'Doc

{I was always partial to old #7, that 5 and 8+9 sort of thingy.}

If it's stupid, but it works, it ain't stupid.
Logged

gingyer

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,684
  • Location: Glasgow
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2007, 05:28:02 pm »

If I can remember correctly
Gold and silver were
the tolerance values of the resistor (+/- 10%)
I was always told to ignore them as it was not too
important

Colin
Logged

sweeper

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 199
  • When all else fails, read the instructions
  • Location: On the edge of reason, in the state of Confusion
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2007, 05:52:46 pm »

Oooh Roy, you are naughty! :o
I think many readers will know the saying you are refering to - it did work with most people in my experience.
The polite (pc?) version is " Betty Brown Runs Over Your Garden But Violet Gray Walks".
Not quite so memorable...
Regards,
Logged

Peterm

  • Inactive
  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 414
  • Location: Southam,Warwickshire
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2007, 06:21:12 pm »

Bye Bye Rosie Off You Go Birmingham Via Great Western.   Been using that for the last 60 years.   Pete M
Logged
I`m not just old, I`m ancient

wombat

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 625
  • The view from the shallow end of the gene pool
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2007, 07:26:04 pm »

Doesn't help if the resistor uses a four band coding - such as metal film resistors

Here read the first three bands as digits and the fourth band for the number of zeros. For values less than 100R, the fourth band is silver for up to 1R and gold for 1R to 10R.

The tolerance band is as follows:

Gold: +/-5%
Silver: +/-10%
Brown: +/-1%

Wom

ps Black Beetles Running Over Your Garden Bring Very Good Weather

Logged
The prat in the hat - www.floatingwombat.me.uk - Have look & say Hi

spoons

  • Guest
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2007, 07:56:49 pm »

Some intreting ways of remembering the color codes, I may need to rob one of those as the one i use is not politicaly correct and may affend anyone with  fragile sensabilities. Im sure any exmatelote will know the one im talking about.
yeah the tolernece band was gold (5%) and silver (10%) im pretty much sure of this
band 1 first number
band 2 2nd number
band 3 the multiplier
but this can be tricky and confusing because sometimes this band can be gold or silver
if gold move the decimal point to the left on point
if silver move to the left two points.
if another band appears below the tolernece band this is for quality.
Now I have bored you with that im off.
stu
Logged

wombat

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 625
  • The view from the shallow end of the gene pool
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2007, 08:34:55 pm »

Logged
The prat in the hat - www.floatingwombat.me.uk - Have look & say Hi

spoons

  • Guest
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2007, 11:45:33 pm »

Im a bit rusty with capacitors but if i i think it goes something like this please correct me if im wrong anyone.
the first two digits represent the significant value where the third digit represents the number of zeros.
e.g
if you have a capacitor with 104 stamped on it you would have 10 plus 4 zeros which would give 100, 000 pico farads.
you can the convert it to micro farads if you wish by moving the decimal place left by six places which would give 0.10 micro farads.

Logged

roycv

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3,389
  • Location: S.W. Herts
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2007, 03:34:50 pm »

Hi all, If you are really old then the previous resistor code was body - tip - spot, same colour code sequence.
I remember, back in the 1960's, valve days, that I had to set up a bias voltage for a set of valves , in an EMP (Electronic Multiplying Punch), by using an AVO 8 across a resistor switched to volts and file a solid carbon resistor until the voltage was just right.  The filing increasing the value of the resistor.  Who said anything about the 'good old days', sometimes they were really awful.
regards Roy
Logged

BarryM

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,701
  • Location: West Lothian
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2007, 04:47:11 pm »

Or you could go here for a very handy dooflick. I've made a couple and presented one to my local Maplins branch...  ;D

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/rescal.htm
Logged

chingdevil

  • Guest
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2007, 05:39:31 pm »

Hey BarryM

That is brilliant I always struggle to work out the resistor colour codes and usually resort to my multimeter to check what I think the resistor is. This will save a lot of head scratching with associated splinters ;D ;D ;D.

The other Brian
Logged

malcolmfrary

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6,027
  • Location: Blackpool, Lancs, UK
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #11 on: July 23, 2007, 09:14:08 pm »

Hi BarryM
Several years ago when I used to mail order from Maplin, they sent me one of those resistor calculators as a freebie. 
Didn't stop me using the meter,though.

"Moderated"
Logged
"With the right tool, you can break anything" - Garfield

BarryM

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,701
  • Location: West Lothian
Re: Resistor color code
« Reply #12 on: August 02, 2007, 01:38:22 pm »

Malcolm,
Having been told by the manager at my local Maplins that 'None of us can identify a resistor - we're all IT guys" I think they should be giving them to all their staff.

BarryM
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
 

Page created in 0.107 seconds with 22 queries.