1st band/digit 2nd band/digit 3rd band/multiplier
(# of zeroes added)
4th band/tolerance %
Each colored band on the resistor corespondes to a number
For the 1st digit, just write (read) the number that corresponds to that color
Same for the 2nd digit
The 3rd band is the multiplier, which tells you how many zeroes to add after the first two digits
(ie if the 3rd band is yellow, which equals 4, simply add four zeroes after the first two digits)
The 4th band represents the tolerance, or how accurate the resistor is expected to be
(ie a 100K resistor with a 10% tolerance should read anywhere from 90K - 110K
this band will almost always be gold or silver)
For example: your resistor reads yellow / violet / brown /silver. Using the chart, you write down
4 / 7 / 0 (remember this 3rd band is the multiplier, or number of zeroes you add!!) / 10%.
This resistor reads 470 ohms at 10% tolerance.
Another example: brown / black / yellow / gold = 1 / 0 / 0000 / 5%
This reads 100,000 ohms at 5%, or 100K ohms
Note: letters are often used in place of decimals. This is quicker to write & saves space.
For example: brown / green / red = 1 / 5 / 00 = 1500 = 1.5K = 1K5
0 = Black
1 = Brown
2 = Red
3 = Orange
4 = Yellow
5 = Green
6 = Blue
7 = Violet
8 = Grey
9 = White
5% tolerance = Gold
10% tolerance = Silver
Codes for resistors common in Fender amps:
470 Ω = yellow / violet / brown
820 Ω = grey / red / brown
1K = brown / black / red
1K5 = brown / green / red
2K2 = red / red / red
4K7 = yellow / violet / red
10K = brown / black / orange
15K = brown / green / orange
22K = red / red / orange
27K = red / violet / orange
56K = green / blue / orange
82K = grey / red / orange
100K = brown / black / yellow
220K = red / red / yellow
470K = yellow / violet / yellow
1M = brown / black / green
2M2 = red / red / green
3M3 = orange / orange / green
© 2010 Mike Pascale