Resistor Color Code Reader
Description
This MicroSim displays a resistor body with four selectable color bands. Click or cycle through the color options for each band and watch the decoded resistance value update in real time. The sim shows both the numeric calculation steps and the final value in standard engineering notation, making the EIA color code easy to practice and memorize.
Key Concepts
- The EIA 4-band code: Band 1 = 1st significant digit, Band 2 = 2nd significant digit, Band 3 = multiplier (power of 10), Band 4 = tolerance.
- Standard color sequence: Black (0) through White (9) in spectral order plus tolerance colors.
- Tolerance colors: Gold = ±5%, Silver = ±10%, no band = ±20%.
- Engineering notation expresses values as multiples of 1, 1k, 1M with one to three significant digits.
- Resistors come in standardized E-series values (E12, E24, E96) to cover all practical ranges with minimal stock.