As shown above, a carbon-composition resistor can have 4 to 6 bands. A 5-band resistor is more precise compared to a 4-band type because of the inclusion of a third signficant digit. A 6-band resistor is like a 5-band resistor but includes a temperature coefficient band (the 6th band).
4-band | 5-band | 6-band | |
---|---|---|---|
1st band | 1st significant digit | 1st significant digit | 1st significant digit |
2nd band | 2nd significant digit | 2nd significant digit | 2nd significant digit |
3rd band | multiplier | 3rd significant digit |
3rd significant digit |
4th band | tolerance | multiplier | multiplier |
5th band | N/A | tolerance | tolerance |
6th band | N/A | N/A | temperature coefficient |
Each color represents a number if it's located from the 1st to 2nd band for a 4-band type or 1st to 3rd band for a 5-band and 6-band type.
Color | Value |
---|---|
Black (2nd and 3rd bands only) |
0 |
Brown | 1 |
Red | 2 |
Orange | 3 |
Yellow | 4 |
Green | 5 |
Blue | 6 |
Violet | 7 |
Grey | 8 |
White | 9 |
If the color is found on the 3rd band for a 4-band type or the 4th band for a 5-band and 6-band type, then it's a multiplier.
Color | Value |
---|---|
Black |
x1 |
Brown | x10 |
Red | x100 |
Orange | x1000 |
Yellow | x10000 |
Green | x100000 |
Blue | x1000000 |
Violet | x10000000 |
Grey | x100000000 |
White | x1000000000 |
Notice that the number of zeroes is equal to the color's number as per the previous table.
The fourth band (or 5th for the 5-band and 6-band) indicates the tolerance values. Here, two colors are added (gold and silver).
Color | Value |
---|---|
Black |
N/A |
Brown | ±1% |
Red | ±2% |
Orange | ±3% |
Yellow | ±4% |
Green | ±0.5% |
Blue | ±0.25% |
Violet | ±0.15% |
Grey | ±0.05% |
White | N/A |
Gold | ±5% |
Silver | ±10% |
The 6th band for a 6-band type resistor is the temperature coefficient. This indicates how much the actual resistance value of the resistor changes when the temperature changes.
Color | Value |
---|---|
Black |
N/A |
Brown | 100 ppm/ºC |
Red | 50 ppm/ºC |
Orange | 15 ppm/ºC |
Yellow | 25 ppm/ºC |
Green | N/A |
Blue | 10 ppm/ºC |
Violet | 5 ppm/ºC |
Grey | N/A |
White | N/A |