0 - Black
1 - Brown
2 - Red
3 - Orange
4 - Yellow
5 - Green
6 - Blue
7 - Violet
8 - Gray
9 - White
5% - Gold
10% - Silver
20% - None

Resistor Color Code Interpreter


To determine the value of a resistor from the color band markings, hold the resistor so that the gold or silver band is to the right. If there are only 3 bands, hold the resistor so that the 3 colors are closest to the left end. Next, click on one color in each of the 4 colums to the right so that the resistor image above agrees with the resistor markings. The first two colors represent two digits, each from 0-9. The third color represents the number of zeros to add, and the fourth or right side color represents the tollerance. The color values correspond to the colors of the rainbow where violet has a higher value of (7) than red (2) since violet is closer to the higher end of the light spectrum. Black is lowest with a value of 0 and white the highest with a value of 9. The calculator below can be used to determine the equivalent value of two resistors in series or parallel. Enter values for R1 and R2 and then press the "=" button. Standard 5% values are shown in parenthesis, standard 1% values are shown in the box below. Scroll down page for a list of standard 5% values.

R1 R2 Series Equivalent Parallel Equivalent

 Resistor 5% Standard Values:

 1.0     10      100     1.0K     10K     100K    1.0M     10M
 1.1     11      110     1.1K     11K     110K    1.1M     11M
 1.2     12      120     1.2K     12K     120K    1.2M     12M
 1.3     13      130     1.3K     13K     130K    1.3M     13M
 1.5     15      150     1.5K     15K     150K    1.5M     15M
 1.6     16      160     1.6K     16K     160K    1.6M     16M
 1.8     18      180     1.8K     18K     180K    1.8M     18M
 2.0     20      200     2.0K     20K     200K    2.0M     20M
 2.2     22      220     2.2K     22K     220K    2.2M     22M
 2.4     24      240     2.4K     24K     240K    2.4M
 2.7     27      270     2.7K     27K     270K    2.7M
 3.0     30      300     3.0K     30K     300K    3.0M
 3.3     33      330     3.3K     33K     330K    3.3M
 3.6     36      360     3.6K     36K     360K    3.6M
 3.9     39      390     3.9K     39K     390K    3.9M
 4.3     43      430     4.3K     43K     430K    4.3M
 4.7     47      470     4.7K     47K     470K    4.7M
 5.1     51      510     5.1K     51K     510K    5.1M
 5.6     56      560     5.6K     56K     560K    5.6M
 6.2     62      620     6.2K     62K     620K    6.2M
 6.8     68      680     6.8K     68K     680K    6.8M
 7.5     75      750     7.5K     75K     750K    7.5M
 8.2     82      820     8.2K     82K     820K    8.2M
 9.1     91      910     9.1K     91K     910K    9.1M