Using Resistor Color-Codes
When ordering coax, single pair audio, microphone cable and some other multi-component cables Clark Wire & Cable use the standard resistor color code to designate cable color. For example, a green coax part number would be [part#]-5.
* Please note: not all clark wire and cable products are available in all the colors listed and are subject to change. Please refer to the cable part number for available options.
To determine the value of a resistor, we have to follow a color code as defined in the international standard code( IEC 60062). For example, if we have a resistor with the following colors: band 1 is red, band 2 is violet and band 3 is orange. We can decipher this by looking at the following chart and applying a number to each color. Since the first band is red, our first number would be 2. The second number would be 7. Our first two numbers are 27.
| 0 | Black | 5 | Green |
| 1 | Brown | 6 | Blue |
| 2 | Red | 7 | Violet |
| 3 | Orange | 8 | Gray |
| 4 | Yellow | 9 | White |
The third band is called the multiplier and corresponds to the following numbers:
Multiplier
| 1 | Black | 100,000 | Green |
| 10 | Brown | 1,000,000 | Blue |
| 100 | Red | 10,000,000 | Violet |
| 1,000 | Orange | 100,000,000 | Gray |
| 10,000 | Yellow | 1,000,000,000 | White |
Since the multiplier, in our example, is orange, we simply multiply 1,000 by the first two numbers (27) to get 27,000. This resistor has a total value of 27,000 Ohms.
It doesn't stop here though. Sometimes there is a fourth band which represents the tolerance of the resistor. This is either silver for a 10% tolerance or gold for a 5% tolerance. If there is no color used for the fourth band, the tolerance is 20%. If the application requires accuracy greater than 5%, a nominal value will be printed on the resistor itself.
A fun mnemonic to remember this is Before Bad Ratings Overcome You, Go Buy Very Good Wire.
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