Ohmelette

What the cluck is that resistor?

Quick tool to figure out what resistors you're working with. Decode any 4-band or 5-band resistor's value, multiplier and tolerance by tapping the colors you see on the component. Uses the IEC 60062 standard used worldwide in electronics manufacturing.

Select bands

Band 1 (1)

Band 2 (2)

Band 3 (3)

Multiplier (M)

Tolerance (T)

Find the Color Bands

Know the resistance value from a schematic or datasheet? Enter it below and we'll provide out the band colors.

Value

Unit

Ω

kΩ

MΩ

Tolerance

Any

±1%

±2%

±5%

±10%

Bands

4-Band

5-Band

Enter a value to see the color bands.

Digit Values & Multipliers

Tolerance Values

How to Read a Resistor

Orientation: Hold the resistor with the band cluster on the left. The tolerance band (usually gold or silver) sits alone on the right, separated by a wider gap.

4-band: Band 1 = tens digit, Band 2 = ones digit, Band 3 = multiplier, Band 4 = tolerance. Example: Brown–Black–Red–Gold = 10 × 100 = 1 kΩ ±5%.

5-band: Band 1 = hundreds, Band 2 = tens, Band 3 = ones, Band 4 = multiplier, Band 5 = tolerance. One extra digit of precision.

Mnemonic: "BB ROY of Great Britain has a Very Good Wife" — Black, Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Grey, White (0–9).