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Resistors are tiny, and their values are written not in text but in a sequence of colored bands. Reading them by eye takes practice and a colour chart. This calculator removes the guesswork: pick the colours you see from left to right and it tells you the resistance in ohms, kilohms or megohms, plus the tolerance and, for six-band parts, the temperature coefficient.
Four-band resistors use two digit bands, a multiplier and a tolerance. Five-band parts add a third digit for tighter precision. Six-band parts append a temperature coefficient band. The gold or silver band is always the tolerance and sits at the end, which is the quickest way to tell which direction to read the part.
The calculation runs entirely in your browser, so it works on a workbench with no signal. Add it to your home screen to keep a resistor reference one tap away.
The tolerance band (gold, silver, or sometimes brown/red on 5-band parts) is always last. Read from the opposite end.
Brown=1, black=0, red=×100, so it is 10 × 100 = 1000 ohms, or 1 kΩ.
Yes. Select "6 bands" and the sixth band is read as the temperature coefficient in ppm/°C.