Resistor Color Code Measurement is an essential skill for anyone working with electronics. In today’s digital world, digital multimeters have become the go-to tool for quickly and accurately determining resistor values. Whether you’re using a multimeter or decoding the color bands on a resistor, this guide will help you master both methods. With step-by-step instructions and tips, you’ll learn how to measure resistor values with precision, ensuring your projects run smoothly and efficiently.

Resistor Color Code Measurement

In this era, we all use digital multimeters. With the help of a digital multimeter, values can be easily obtained, and its accuracy is also excellent.

The value of a resistor can be determined in two ways.

1. Using an ohmmeter / analog multimeter / digital multimeter.
2. With the help of color code.

Resistor Color Code Measurement Using the meter

Ohmmeter and Analog Multimeter:

First, check if the needle of the meter is at zero adjustment. If not, use the zero adjustment screw to bring the needle to the zero position.

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Then, set the selector knob of the meter to the Ohms position. Connect the two cables (probes) of the meter to the two terminals of the resistor. The meter’s needle will then give a reading, which will be the resistor’s value.

Using a Digital Multimeter:

This is the most commonly used meter in the present day. With this meter, values can be easily measured. First, set the selector knob to Ohms. Then, connect the two terminals of the resistor to the two probes of the meter, and the reading obtained will be the resistor’s value.

Resistor Color Code Measurement Using Color Code:

We can easily determine the value of a resistor using color codes. Now, the question is, what is a color code? The various colors marked on the body of the resistor are called color codes. Each color patch is called a band.

Resistors generally have at least four bands. Resistors with 5 and 6 bands are also available. A total of 12 colors are used for this purpose. The value of each color is given in the chart below.

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Special Method to Remember Resistor Color Code:

A special method to remember the values in sequence.

In English: BB ROY Good Boy Very Good Worker

BB    B = Black (কালো) B=Brown()

ROY    R=Red, O=Orange, Y=Yellow

GoodG=Green

BoyB=Blue

VeryV=Violet

GoodG=Gray

WorkerW=white

Now, let’s see the simple method of determining values

We will write the value of the 1st color, the 2nd color, and the number of zeros according to the 3rd color, and the 4th color is usually gold or silver.

The 4th color band is considered tolerance. You may ask, what is tolerance?

Tolerance is only gold or silver. The last band of the color code is tolerance, which balances the value of the resistor. Many of us are familiar with the concept of error. When we measure a value, it might not always be exact due to various reasons.

Similarly, in the case of a resistor, the value can vary due to temperature. The tolerance range indicates how much the value may vary (+/-). Hopefully, the following example will clarify this.

Example: Suppose the colors on a resistor are Yellow, Violet, Brown, and Gold

So, for Yellow, we will write 4

For Violet, we will write 7

For Brown, it’s 1, so 1*10=10

Gold Tolerance (+-5%)

The value of the resistor will be, 47*10=470 Ohms or 470/1000=0.47 Kiloohms.

Example 2: Green, Blue, Orange, Gold

Green=5, Blue=6, Orange= 1*1000=1000, Gold= +-5%

The value will be=56*1000=56000 Ohms, and the tolerance or possible variation in value is +-5%

To convert to kiloohms, 56000/1000=56 Kiloohms.

How Values Are Written:

Previously, values were written as 50Ω, 60KΩ, 1MΩ. But now they are written as 50R, 60K, 1M. Here, R stands for Ohms, K stands for Kiloohms, and M stands for Megaohms.