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Electronic Component Codes Cheat Sheet

Read any small component at a glance: the resistor colour code chart, SMD and EIA 96 resistor codes, capacitor codes, tolerance letters and the E12 and E24 standard values.

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Electronic Component Codes Cheat Sheet PDF preview

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Resistor colour code

Colour	Digit	Multiplier	Tolerance
Black	0	× 1
Brown	1	× 10	± 1 %
Red	2	× 100	± 2 %
Orange	3	× 1k
Yellow	4	× 10k
Green	5	× 100k	± 0.5 %
Blue	6	× 1M	± 0.25 %
Violet	7	× 10M	± 0.1 %
Grey	8		± 0.05 %
White	9
Gold		× 0.1	± 5 %
Silver		× 0.01	± 10 %
None			± 20 %

Reading bands

4 band: digit, digit, multiplier, tolerance (yellow violet red gold = 4.7 kΩ ± 5 %)
5 band: digit, digit, digit, multiplier, tolerance
The tolerance band is usually spaced apart or gold/silver

SMD resistor codes

Code	Value	Rule
472	4.7 kΩ	3 digit: 47 × 10²
1002	10 kΩ	4 digit: 100 × 10²
4R7	4.7 Ω	R = decimal point
01C	10 kΩ	EIA 96: 100 × 100
000	0 Ω	Jumper

EIA 96 multiplier letters

Letter	Multiplier
Z	× 0.001
Y or R	× 0.01
X or S	× 0.1
A	× 1
B or H	× 10
C	× 100
D	× 1000
E	× 10,000
F	× 100,000

Capacitor codes

Code	Value
104	100 nF = 0.1 µF
103	10 nF
102	1 nF
473	47 nF
105	1 µF
4n7	4.7 nF
47	47 pF

Value in pF = first two digits × 10^third digit (8 = × 0.01, 9 = × 0.1).

Tolerance letters

Letter	Tolerance
B	± 0.1 pF
C	± 0.25 pF
D	± 0.5 pF
F	± 1 %
G	± 2 %
J	± 5 %
K	± 10 %
M	± 20 %
Z	+80 / −20 %

Standard values (per decade)

Series	Values
E6 (± 20 %)	1.0 1.5 2.2 3.3 4.7 6.8
E12 (± 10 %)	1.0 1.2 1.5 1.8 2.2 2.7 3.3 3.9 4.7 5.6 6.8 8.2
E24 (± 5 %)	1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.7 3.0 3.3 3.6 3.9 4.3 4.7 5.1 5.6 6.2 6.8 7.5 8.2 9.1

SMD package power (typical)

Package	Power
0402	1/16 W
0603	1/10 W
0805	1/8 W
1206	1/4 W
2512	1 W

Related Calculators and Tools

Resistor Color Code CalculatorFree on instrumentationblog.in SMD Resistor Code CalculatorFree on instrumentationblog.in Capacitor Code CalculatorFree on instrumentationblog.in Standard Resistor ValuesFree on instrumentationblog.in

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the colour code for a 10 kΩ resistor?

Brown, black, orange, then the tolerance band (gold for 5 %).

What does 104 mean on a capacitor?

10 × 10⁴ pF = 100 nF = 0.1 µF.

What does 4R7 mean?

4.7 Ω; the R marks the decimal point.

Learn more on the blog

Resistor colour code guide

A practical guide on instrumentationblog.in that explains the theory behind this cheat sheet.

Read Full Article

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