Question 1

How do I read resistor color codes?

Accepted Answer

For a 4-band resistor, the first band is the tens digit, the second is the ones digit, the third is the multiplier (power of 10), and the fourth is the tolerance. For 5-band resistors, the first three bands are significant digits, the fourth is the multiplier, and the fifth is the tolerance.

Question 2

What do gold and silver bands mean?

Accepted Answer

Gold represents a multiplier of x0.1 (for sub-ohm values) and a tolerance of plus or minus 5%. Silver represents a multiplier of x0.01 and a tolerance of plus or minus 10%. These colors are not used for significant digit bands.

Question 3

What is the difference between 4-band and 5-band resistors?

Accepted Answer

4-band resistors have 2 significant digits and lower precision (typically plus or minus 5% or 10%). 5-band resistors have 3 significant digits and higher precision (plus or minus 1% or 2%). 5-band resistors are used in precision circuits.

Question 4

Is my data sent to a server?

Accepted Answer

No, all processing is done within your browser. Your data is never sent to any external server.

Color	Significant Figure	Multiplier	Tolerance
Black	0	×1	-
Brown	1	×10	±1%
Red	2	×100	±2%
Orange	3	×1k	±0.05%
Yellow	4	×10k	±0.02%
Green	5	×100k	±0.5%
Blue	6	×1M	±0.25%
Violet	7	×10M	±0.1%
Gray	8	×100M	±0.01%
White	9	×1G	-
Gold	-	×0.1	±5%
Silver	-	×0.01	±10%

Resistor Color Code Calculator

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