ELECTRONIC COLOR CODE

(Redirected from IEC 60062)
The 'electronic color code' discussed here is used to indicate the values or ratings of electronic components, very commonly for resistors, but also for capacitors, inductors, and others. A separate code, the 25-pair color code, is used to identify wires in a cable or bundle.
The electronic color code was developed in the early 1920s by the Radio Manufacturer's Association, now part of Electronic Industries Alliance and was published as EIA-RS-279. The current international standard is IEC 60062[1].
Advantages of color coding (over printed text) on physically small components are the inherent increase in marking area, which makes the values easier to read without magnification, and a 360 degree viewing angle which cannot be achieved with text. Color coded markings are also more resistant to abrasion.
A significant drawback, on the other hand, is color degradation due to aging, oxidation and overheating. In the days of classical chassis televisions, for example, overheated resistors would change their color bands, making it virtually impossible to distinguish brown from red from orange, except by circuit analysis and deduction. This could mean the difference between a 330 Ω, 3.3 kΩ or 33 kΩ resistor respectively (a factor of 100). An overheated 33 kΩ resistor often looked like 330 Ω. Dirt, unusual lighting, and color blindness can also make it difficult to read color codes.

Contents
Other schemes
Resistors, capacitors and inductors
Mnemonics
Examples
See also
References
External links

Other schemes


Color-coding of this form is becoming rarer. In newer equipment, most passive components come in surface mount packages. Many of these packages are unlabeled, and those that are normally labeled with alphanumeric codes, not colors. In one popular marking method, the manufacturer prints 3 digits on components: 2 value digits followed by the power of ten multiplier. Thus the value of a resistor marked '472' is 4,700 Ω and a capacitor marked '104' is 100 nF (100,000 pF). This can be confusing; a resistor marked '472' might seem to be a 472 Ω unit, and we must rely upon experience to interpret markings. Another way is to use the "kilo-" or "mega-" prefixes in place of the decimal point:
: 1K2 = 1.2 kΩ = 1,200 Ω
: 4M7 = 4.7 MΩ = 4,700,000 Ω
For 1% resistors, a three-digit alphanumeric code is sometimes used, which is not obviously related to the value at all. For instance, a resistor marked '68C' is 499('68') × 100('C') = 49,900 Ω.
It is sometimes not obvious whether a color coded component is a resistor, capacitor, or inductor, and this may be deduced by knowledge of its circuit function, physical shape or by measurement (capacitors have nearly infinite resistance; unfortunately, so do faulty open-circuit resistors and inductors).

Resistors, capacitors and inductors


A decade of the E12 values shown with their electronic color codes on resistors.


Resistor values are always coded in ohms, capacitors in picofarads (pF), inductors in microhenries (µH), and transformers in volts.

★ band 'A' is first significant figure of component value

★ band 'B' is the second significant figure

★ band 'C' is the decimal multiplier

★ band 'D' if present, indicates tolerance of value in percent (no color means 20%)
For example, a resistor with bands of ''yellow, violet, red, and gold'' will have first digit 4 (yellow in table below), second digit 7 (violet), followed by 2 (red) zeros: 4,700 ohms. Gold signifies that the tolerance is ±5%, so the real resistance could lie anywhere between 4,465 and 4,935 ohms.
Resistors manufactured for military use may also include a fifth band which indicates component failure rate (reliability); refer to MIL-HDBK-199 for further details.
Tight tolerance resistors may have three bands for significant figures rather than two, and/or an additional band indicating temperature coefficient, in units of ppm/K.
All coded components will have at least two value bands and a multiplier; other bands are optional (italicised below).
The Standard EIA Color Code Table per EIA-RS-279 is as follows:
Color1st band2nd band3rd band (multiplier)4th band (tolerance)Temp. Coefficient
Black 0 0 ×100  
Brown 11×101±1% (F) 100 ppm
Red 22×102±2% (G) 50 ppm
Orange33×103 15 ppm
Yellow44×104  25 ppm
Green 55×105±0.5% (D)  
Blue 66×106±0.25% (C) 
Violet77×107±0.1% (B)  
Grey 88×108±0.05% (A) 
White 99×109   
Gold   ×0.1 ±5% (J)  
Silver  ×0.01 ±10% (K)  
None     ±20% (M)  

''Note'': red to violet are the colors of the rainbow where red is low energy and violet is higher energy.

Mnemonics


A useful mnemonic for remembering the first ten color codes matches the first letter of the color code, by order of increasing magnitude. There are many variations:

★ 'B'ad 'b'oys 'r'ape 'o'ur 'y'oung 'g'irls 'b'ehind 'v'ictory 'g'arden 'w'alls.[2][3]

★ 'B'ad 'b'oys 'r'ape 'o'ur 'y'oung 'g'irls, 'b'ut 'V'iolet 'g'ives 'w'illingly.

★ 'B'ig 'b'oys 'r'ace 'o'ur 'y'oung 'g'irls, 'b'ut 'V'iolet 'g'enerally 'w'ins.[4]
Another variant uses the fact that the central part of the code follows the color spectrum, without the ''I'' for indigo:

★ 'B'lack 'B'rown 'Roy G. B'i'v' 'G'ray 'W'hite
Besides the ten colors of the main value code, the most common tolerance codes can be appended in a variety of ways, with '''g'old'', '''s'ilver'', and '''n'one'' representing the 5%, 10%, and 20% tolerance colors, respectively:

★ 'B'ad 'b'eer 'r'ots 'o'ur 'y'oung 'g'uts, 'b'ut 'v'odka 'g'oes 'w'ell; 'g'et 's'ome 'n'ow.[5][6]

★ 'B'. 'B'. 'Roy' of 'G'reat 'B'ritain has a 'v'ery 'g'ood 'w'ife with 'g'old and 's'ilver 'n'ecklaces.
Since ''B'' can stand for both "black" and "brown", variations are formed such as "''black'' boys rape only young girls...". It is well-known that humorous, offensive, or sexual mnemonics are more memorable (see mnemonic), but these variations are often considered inappropriate for classrooms, and have been implicated as a sign of sexism in science and engineering classes.[7] (Dr. Latanya Sweeney, associate professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon, a black woman, mentions the mnemonic as one of the reasons she felt discriminated against and dropped out of MIT in the 1980s to form her own software company.)[8][9] An alternative way to recall that black comes before brown in the color code is to use the position of white at the end of the color code as a key to remember that its opposite, black (and not brown), is at the beginning, or to simply make a connection between black and zero (emptiness, nothingness, or absence of color).
Other languages have other mnemonics for this color code. A rough translation of the French is "Don't eat anything or I'll beat you violently, big animal."

Examples



From top to bottom:

★ Green-Blue-Brown-Black-Brown


★ 560 Ω ± 1%

★ Red-Red-Orange-Gold


★ 22,000 Ω ± 5%

★ Yellow-Violet-Brown-Gold


★ 470 Ω ± 5%

★ Blue-Gray-Black-Gold


★ 68 Ω ± 5%
Note: The sizes of the resistors depend only on the power they can dissipate, and do not affect their value.

See also



25-pair color code for wiring

Other color codes


References


1. International Standard IEC 60062. Marking codes for resistors and capacitors. Section 3: Colour code for fixed resistors. International Electrotechnical Commission, Geneva, 5th edition, 2004.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. The Mnemonics Page - Dean Campbell, Bradley University Chemistry Department
7.
8.
9.

External links



5-band Resistor Color Code Calculator

Resistor color code calculator (Used to explore E-ranges and color codes.)

Guide to SMD resistor codes, including alphanumeric codes

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