Lesson 04 – Resistor Color Coding Digital Logic Design

Resistor Color Coding

Required Materials:
● Ballpen (Black and Red) ● Multimeter
● Calculator (Programmer / Scientific / Standard / Statistics) ● Resistor

Objectives:
After studying this, you should be able to:
● describe the importance of electronic components in a circuit;
● provide the reasons why resistor color-coding procedure is important.

Definition of Terms:
● dynamo = it is an electrical generator that produces direct current with the use of a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators
capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundation upon which many other later electric-power conversion devices were based,
including the electric motor, the alternating-current alternator, and the rotary converter. Today, the simpler alternator dominates large-scale
power generation, for efficiency, reliability and cost reasons.
● electronic component = it is any basic discrete device or physical entity in an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated
fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singular form and are not to be confused with electrical elements,
which are conceptual abstractions representing idealized electronic components.
● semiconductor = any of various solid crystalline substances, such as germanium or silicon, having electrical conductivity greater than
insulators but less than good conductors, and used especially as a base material for computer chips and other electronic devices.

Introduction
Electronic components have a number of electrical terminals or leads. These leads connect to create an electronic circuit with a particular
function (for example an amplifier, radio receiver, or oscillator). Basic electronic components may be packaged discretely, as arrays or networks of
like components, or integrated inside of packages such as semiconductor integrated circuits, hybrid integrated circuits, or thick film devices. The
following list of electronic components focuses on the discrete version of these components, treating such packages as components in their owner
right.
Components (see Table 4.1) can be classified as passive, active, or electromechanic. The strict physics definition treats passive
components as ones that cannot supply energy themselves, whereas a battery would be seen as an active component since it truly acts as a
source of energy.
However, electronic engineers who perform circuit analysis use a more restrictive definition of passivity. When only concerned with the
energy of signals, it is convenient to ignore the so-called Direct Current (DC) circuit and pretend that the power supplying components such as
transistors or integrated circuits is absent (as if each such component had its own battery built in), though it may in reality be supplied by the DC
circuit. Then, the analysis only concerns the Alternating Current (AC) circuit, an abstraction that ignores DC voltages and currents (and the power
associated with them) present in the real-life circuit. This fiction, for instance, lets us view an oscillator as "producing energy" even though in reality
the oscillator consumes even more energy from a DC power supply, which we have chosen to ignore. Under that restriction, we define the terms as
used in circuit analysis as:
● Active components rely on a source of energy (usually from the DC circuit, which we have chosen to ignore) and usually can inject
power into a circuit, though this is not part of the definition. Active components include amplifying components such as transistors,
triode vacuum tubes (valves), and tunnel diodes.
● Passive components cannot introduce net energy into the circuit. They also cannot rely on a source of power, except for what is
available from the (AC) circuit they are connected to. As a consequence they can't amplify (increase the power of a signal), although
they may increase a voltage or current (such as is done by a transformer or resonant circuit). Passive components include
two-terminal components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transformers.
● Electromechanical components can carry out electrical operations by using moving parts or by using electrical connections. Most
passive components with more than two terminals can be described in terms of two-port parameters that satisfy the principle of
reciprocity—though there are rare exceptions. In contrast, active components (with more than two terminals) generally lack that
property.

Table 4.1 Basic Electronic Components

DC Battery Bridge Rectifier
Laptop Battery Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
Battery Diode
Mobile Phone Battery Rectifier Diode
Rechargeable Battery Zener Diode
Bleeper / Buzzer Fuse
Ceramic Fuse Holder
Electrolytic Holder Integrated Circuit DIL Sockets
Fixed (IC DIL Sockets)
Capacitors
Mica Integrated Circuits (ICs)
Paper DC Motor
Variable Motor Dynamo
Choke Stepper Motor
RJ11 Pilot Lamp
Computer Network Sockets RJ45 Relay
USB Computer Sockets Speaker

Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz GrrV1.8-2021 Innovative Computer Organization for New Society
Lesson 04 – Resistor Color Coding Digital Logic Design

Table 4.1 Basic Electronic Components (continued)

Light-dependant resistor (LDR) Air-core rf transformer
Resistors Potentiometer Iron-core power transformer
Transformer
Variable resistor Stepped-down transformer
Push Button Stepped-up transformer
Push Button Normally Open Germanium Transistor
Transistor
(PBNO) Silicon Transistor
Rotary Switch Braid
Switch
Selector Switch Coaxial Cable
Slide Switch Wire Solid Wire
Tap Switch Stranded Wire
Toggle Switch Twin-lead Cable

RESISTOR
In many applications, resistance must be inserted into a circuit. The purpose is either to reduce the current or to produce a desired IR
(Current times Resistance) voltage drop. The components for these uses, manufactured with a specific R (Resistance), are resistors. Actually,
resistors are probably the most common component in all kinds of electronic equipment, from a small AM (Amplitude Modulation) radio to a color
television receiver. The main types are the carbon resistors and wirewound resistors.

RESISTOR TYPES

The two main characteristics of a resistor are its R in ohms and the wattage rating. Resistors are available in a very wide range of R
values, from a fraction of an ohm to many megaohms. The power rating may be as high as several hundred watts or as low as 1/10 W.
The power rating is important because it specifies the maximum wattage the resistor can dissipate without excessive heat. Dissipation
means that the power is wasted as I2R loss, since the resultant heat is not used. Too much heat can make the resistor burn open.
Wirewound resistors are used where the power dissipation is about 5 W or more. For 2 W or less, carbon resistors are preferable
because they are smaller and cost less. Most common in electronic equipment are small carbon resistors with a power rating of 1 W or less.
Usually, higher R values have smaller wattage ratings because they have less current.
Both carbon and wirewound resistors can be either fixed or variable. A fixed resistor has a specific R that cannot be adjusted. A variable
resistor can be adjusted for any value between zero ohms and its maximum R. Carbon-composition variable resistors are commonly used for
controls, such as the volume control in a radio or the contrast control in a black and white television receiver. An application for a variable
wirewound resistor is to divide the voltage from a power supply.

Wirewound Resistors
In this construction, resistance wire such as Advance or manganin is wrapped around an insulating core. Insulating materials commonly
used are porcelain, cement, phenolic materials like Bakelite, or just plain pressed paper. The wire is bare, but usually the entire unit is encased in an
insulator. The length of wire used and its specific resistivity determine the resistance of the unit.
Since they are generally for low-resistance high-power applications, wirewound resistors are available in power ratings from 5 W to
several hundred watts, with a resistance range of less than 1 Ω to several thousand ohms. In addition, wirewound precision resistors are used
where accurate, stable resistance values are required, as for meter shunts and multipliers.

Carbon-Composition Resistors
This type is made of finely divided carbon or graphite mixed with a powdered insulating material in the proportions needed for the desired
resistance value. The resistor element is usually enclosed in a plastic case for insulation and mechanical strength. Joined to the two ends of the
carbon resistance element are metal caps with leads of tinned copper wire for soldering the resistor connections into a circuit. These are called axial
leads because they come straight out from the ends. Carbon resistors are commonly available in resistance values of 1Ω to 20MΩ. Their power
rating is generally 1/10, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, or 2W.

Carbon-Film Resistors
These have a carbon-film coating around an insulator, like alumina. The cost is less than for the hot-molded carbon-composition type.

Metal-Film Resistors
These have a conductive-coating on a glass substrate. The advantage is more exact resistance values.

Cermet-Film Resistors
These have a carbon coating fired onto a solid ceramic substrate. The purpose is to have more precise R values and greater stability with
heat. They are often made in a small square, with leads to fit a PC board. A flat package with multiple leads can be used for several resistors in one
unit.

RESISTOR COLOR CODING

Because carbon resistors are small physically, they are color-coded to indicate their resistance value in ohms. The basis of this system is
the use of the colors for numerical values. In memorizing these colours, remember that the dark colors, black and brown, corresponds to the lowest
numbers, zero and one, through lighter colors, to white for nine. The color coding is standardized by the Electronics Industries Association (EIA).
These codes summarized in Table 4.2 and 3.3 respectively.
There are three types of color-coding band for computing the resistance, the four, five, and six color band printed on the body of a
resistor. Each color represents a number. The color band which is closest to the left hand position of the resistor is the first color. An easy way to
determine the first left hand color band is that of the color itself. The black color for example, is not used for the first color or first digit.

Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz GrrV1.8-2021 Innovative Computer Organization for New Society
Lesson 04 – Resistor Color Coding Digital Logic Design

Resistor Four Color Bands

This code is the most common system used for color-coding insulated carbon resistors having axial leads, as illustrated in Figure 4a.
Color bands are printed at one end of the insulating body, which is usually tan. Reading from left to right, the first color band close to the edge
indicates the first digit in the numerical value of resistance. The second band gives the second digit. The third band is the multiplier, giving the
number of zeroes after the two digits. Gold and silver is for the third and fourth colors. The fourth color represents tolerance. The resulting number is
the resistance in ohms.

Figure 4a. Four Color Band Resistors

Table 4.2 Four (4) Bands

Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4
Color
First Digit Second Digit Multiplier Tolerance
Black 0 0 100 or 1
Brown 1 1 101 or 10 ±1%
Red 2 2 102 or 100 ±2%
Orange 3 3 103 or 1000
Yellow 4 4 104 or 10000
Green 5 5 105 or 100000 ±0.5%
Blue 6 6 106 or 1000000 ±0.25%
Violet 7 7 107 or 10000000 ±0.10%
Gray 8 8 108 or 100000000 ±0.05%
White 9 9 109 or 1000000000
Gold 10-1 or 0.1 ±5%
-2
Silver 10 or 0.01 ±10%
None ±20%

Resistor Five & Six Color Bands

This code is one of the latest systems used for color-coding insulated carbon resistors having axial leads, similar to four-color bands that
are printed at one end of the insulating body, which is usually tan. Reading from left to right, the first color band close to the edge indicates the first
digit in the numerical value of resistance. The second and third band gives the second and third digit respectively. The fourth band is the multiplier,
giving the number of zeroes after the three digits. Gold and silver is for the fourth and fifth colors. The fifth color represents as tolerance. The
resulting number is the resistance in ohms. Six-color band resistor is similar with five-color band, but it has six stripes, and the last color serves as
Thermal Coefficient.

Table 4.3 Five (5) Bands

Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5
Color
First Digit Second Digit Third Digit Multiplier Tolerance
Black 0 0 0 100 or 1
Brown 1 1 1 101 or 10 ±1%
Red 2 2 2 102 or 100 ±2%
Orange 3 3 3 103 or 1000
Yellow 4 4 4 104 or 10000
Green 5 5 5 105 or 100000 ±0.5%
Blue 6 6 6 106 or 1000000 ±0.25%
Violet 7 7 7 107 or 10000000 ±0.10%
Gray 8 8 8 108 or 100000000 ±0.05%
9
White 9 9 9 10 or 1000000000
Gold 10-1 or 0.1 ±5%
Silver 10-2 or 0.01 ±10%
None ±20%

As example in Figure 4b, the first stripe is yellow for 4, the second stripe is violet for 7, the orange multipliers means “add three zeroes to
47,” or “this multiplier is 103.” Therefore, this resistance value is 47 x 103, or 47,000Ω.

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Lesson 04 – Resistor Color Coding Digital Logic Design

Yellow Violet Orange Gold

Figure 4b. Examples of Color-Coded Resistor

Table 4.4 Six (6) Bands

Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5 Band 6
Color
First Digit Second Digit Third Digit Multiplier Tolerance Thermal Coefficient
Black 0 0 0 100 or 1
Brown 1 1 1 101 or 10 ±1% 100ppm
2
Red 2 2 2 10 or 100 ±2% 50ppm
Orange 3 3 3 103 or 1000 15ppm
Yellow 4 4 4 104 or 10000 25ppm
Green 5 5 5 105 or 100000 ±0.5%
Blue 6 6 6 106 or 1000000 ±0.25%
7
Violet 7 7 7 10 or 10000000 ±0.10%
Gray 8 8 8 108 or 100000000 ±0.05%
White 9 9 9 109 or 1000000000
Gold 10-1 or 0.1 ±5%
-2
Silver 10 or 0.01 ±10%
None ±20%

Resistor Tolerance
The amount by which the actual resistance can be different from the color-coded value is the tolerance, usually given in percent. For
instance, a 100,000Ω resistor with ±10 percent tolerance can have a resistance 10 percent below or above the coded value (see the solution
below). This resistance, therefore, is between 90,000Ω and 110,000Ω. The inexact value of carbon resistors is a disadvantage resulting from their
economical construction, but in most circuits, 5 to 10 percent variation in resistance can be tolerated.

Solution:
● Multiply the value of Resistor (100,000Ω) to the Tolerance (10%). 100,000Ω x 10% = 10000Ω or 100,000Ω x 0.1 =
10000Ω
● The resistances range would simply be the difference and sum of to the tolerance. (100,000Ω - 10000Ω) to (100,000Ω + 10000Ω)
● Final Computed Value is 90,000Ω to 110,000Ω.

Silver in the fourth band indicates a tolerance of ±10 percent, gold is ±5 percent. When there is no fourth stripe, the tolerance is ±20
percent, the smaller the tolerance, the more accurate the resistance value and the higher the cost. Some resistors may have a fifth color band to
designate a military failure rate, indicating reliability.
Being a Technician is not an easy job, so to easily familiarize the order of color, see Table 4.5 below:

Table 4.5 Memory Aid

Black Bad Better
Brown Boy Be
Red Rapes Right
Orange Our Or
Yellow Young Your
Green Girl Great
Blue But Big
Violet Violeta Venture
Gray Gives Goes
White Willingly West

For more information:

● Dorf, R. C., & Svoboda, J. A. (2006). Introduction to Electric Circuits (7th ed.). United States: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
● Grob, B. (1981). Basic Electronics (Fourth ed.). Mandaluyong, Metro Manila: McGraw-Hill Kogakusha, Ltd.
● Multimeter Warehouse. (2000 - 2017). Retrieved from Kaito Electronics, Inc. & Multimeterwarehouse.com:
http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz GrrV1.8-2021 Innovative Computer Organization for New Society
Lesson 04 – Resistor Color Coding Digital Logic Design
● Pagarigan, M. S. (1987). Practical Electronics: Solid-State Servicing (2nd ed.). Quezon Blvd., Quiapo, Manila: Electrolab.

Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz GrrV1.8-2021 Innovative Computer Organization for New Society