RESISTOR TYPES
field guide to resistors Different types, sizes and
complexities of electrical
In order for an electrical circuit to function properly, the power requirements, size and complexity of
circuits use a mind-boggling
the circuit need to be in perfect balance. Too much power and the circuit will fail; too little and it may
variety of resistors.
not function at all. You can achieve this balance by using a type of component called a resistor to
Here are a few of the most
introduce resistance in the circuit and ensure your components function properly.
common types you may
encounter.
GEORG OHM
INSIDE A TYPICAL RESISTOR IN 1827, DEFINED THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN VOLTAGE, CURRENT AND
RESISTANCE NOW KNOWN AS…
OHM’S LAW
If you know the voltage and current of your circuit, determine how
much resistance your circuit needs by using Ohm’s law.
Insulated outer coating Ceramic Connector
rod core cap and lead CARBON FILM
VOLTAGE Carbon film resistors are the archetypical
= RESISTANCE resistor encountered in DIY electronics.
CURRENT Inexpensive and available in thousands of
values, they’ve been used in electrical
circuits for over 100 years.
Helical or
convoluted
R
Once you’ve determined the value of , you can select the resistor
Identification or combination of resistors that you will install in your circuit by
color bands resistive COMMONLY FOUND
“reading” the series of colorful bands printed on the outer coating.
film or wire These can be found almost everywhere.
These are the breadboard-friendly
resistors that end up in all kits, and in
most soldering projects.
HOW TO READ COLOR BANDS
POWER RESISTOR
4-BAND 10KΩ ±5% Power resistors are the best choice when
you’re dealing with higher power levels.
They come in significantly larger power
ratings than standard resistors (into full
5-BAND 236 Ω ±1% watts), and are typically large enough to
have their value printed on their
housing instead of using color bars.
6-BAND 2 8 7 MΩ ±5% 100PPM
COMMONLY FOUND
Commonly seen in heating applications,
due to the heat they generate. Some
applications may even have cooling
elements or a liquid cooling system.
SILVER 0.01 SILVER ±1 0 %
GOLD 0.1 GOLD ±5 %
BLACK 0 BLACK 1
METAL FILM
TOLERANCE
Metal film resistors, like carbon film
BROWN 1 BROWN 10 BROWN ±1 % BROWN 100PPM
T E M P E R AT U R E
COEFFICIENT
MULTIPLIER
resistors, are among the most common
RED 2 RED 100 RED ±2 % RED 50PPM resistors you’ll find in electrical circuits.
PLACE VALUES
They are the logical outgrowth of the
ORANGE 3 ORANGE 1K ORANGE 15PPM wire-wound resistors that populated the
golden age of radio electronics.
YELLOW 4 YELLOW 10K YELLOW 25PPM
GREEN 5 GREEN 100K GREEN ±0 . 5 % COMMONLY FOUND
BLUE 6 BLUE 1M BLUE ±0 . 2 5 % 4: MANAGING These are very precise resistors. Their
TEMPERATURE stability and accuracy make them a great
VIOLET 7 VIOLET 10M VIOLET ± 0 . 10 % A resistor’s temperature choice for critical projects that demand a
high level of accuracy.
GRAY 8 GRAY 100M GRAY ±0 . 0 5 % coefficient describes how much
its tolerance can change relative
WHITE 9 WHITE 1G to changes in temperature. The
temperature coefficient of
3: RESISTOR resistance, or TCR, is measured
1: BASE VALUE 2: MULTIPLIER TOLERANCE in parts per million ºC. A
The first two or three color For resistors that have values with Even though resistors are resistor with a TCR value of
bands indicate the first, three or more place values, a manufactured to precise 100ppm will not change in THROUGH-HOLE
second and third resistor multiplier band is used – K (kilo) specifications, they aren’t tolerance more than 0.00010% Through-hole components have been at the
values and their place values indicating 1,000, M (mega) perfect. The tolerance value per ohm, per degree celcius. center of small projects for a long time.
respectively. For example, a indicating one million and G (giga) indicates what percentage of Both carbon film and metal film resistors
brown band, (1), followed by indicating 1,000 million. Resistors voltage, higher, or lower, that are typically found in through-hole
a red band, (2), would not needing a multiplier will still the resistor will allow through applications and need to be used on circuit
indicate a base value of 12Ω display a black multiplier band. the circuit. boards that are drilled for PTH components.
COMMONLY FOUND
PTH or “plated through-hole” resistors are
an easy choice for common breadboarding
activities and simple prototypes that don’t
require mass production.
COLOR BAND EXAMPLES
4.7Ω 287MΩ 56KΩ
SURFACE-MOUNT
4 7 2 8 7 5 6 0
Surface-mounted devices, or “SMD”
x0.1 x1M x100
104
components, don’t pass all the way
through a circuit board the way a PTH
component does, and instead, are
soldered only to the surface of the board.
Common SMD resistors like the 0602 are
typically much smaller than their
through-hole counterparts.
COMMONLY FOUND
100
± 5% ± 5% PPM ± 5% They are at the heart of large-scale,
commercial circuit board production and
manufacturing for many applications.
KEEP GOING! If you want to learn more about resistors, circuits and
Learn More how to use them appropriately in your next project, you can find
plenty of tutorials and guides at learn.sparkfun.com.
