Engineering · Electrical
Resistor Colour Code Calculator — 4, 5 & 6 Band
Decode resistor colour bands into resistance, tolerance range and temperature coefficient for 4-, 5- and 6-band resistors, or go the other way: enter a resistance and get its colour bands. Also shows the nearest standard values in the E24 (±5 %) and E96 (±1 %) series.
Your inputs
Quick start — try a typical case
Your result Live
Resistance
4.7 kΩ ±5%
Yellow · Violet · Red · Gold
- Range
- 4.465 kΩ to 4.935 kΩ
- In Ohms
- 4,700 Ω
- Standard Series
- An E24 value (common ±5 % series)
How this is calculated
R = (significant digits) × multiplier · range = R × (1 ± tolerance)
- Digits
- Two bands (4-band) or three bands (5- and 6-band): black 0, brown 1, red 2, orange 3, yellow 4, green 5, blue 6, violet 7, grey 8, white 9
- Multiplier
- ×10 to the band's digit; gold ×0.1, silver ×0.01
Read the bands from the end where they're bunched together. The first two (or three) bands are digits, the next is the power of ten to multiply by, then the tolerance band — gold ±5 %, brown ±1 %, and so on. A sixth band, if present, gives the temperature coefficient. Yellow-violet-red-gold is 47 × 100 = 4,700 Ω, ±5 %.
Assumptions & sources
- Standard colour code (IEC 60062); older or unusual parts may differ — measure with a multimeter if unsure.
- 1IEC 60062 — Marking codes for resistors and capacitors — International Electrotechnical Commission
- 2Standard resistor colour code — Colorado State University, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Calculator ID ENG-RESISTOR-001 · version 1.0.0
Common questions
What is yellow-violet-red-gold?
47 × 100 = 4,700 Ω (4.7 kΩ), ±5 %.
Which end do I start reading from?
The bands are closer to one end — start there. The tolerance band (often gold or silver) is usually set apart at the other end.
What are E24 and E96 values?
Standard sets of resistor values per decade: 24 values for ±5 % parts and 96 for ±1 % parts. Designers pick the nearest standard value.