I’ll be honest, those charts are the last thing I’ll use for resistors.
1. clearly labeled resistor containers
2. multimeter
3. online resistor decoder
4. paper resistor decode chart
5. memory resistor decode chart
Reading the bands on resistors is error prone enough (is that violet or black? red or brown? It’s even confusing in the post image) then the chart adds another layer of error opportunity. It’s good if there’s no electronic decoder nearby but it’s often quicker to pull up [the decoder](https://www.digikey.com/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-resistor-color-code) than find the decoder sheet. Then add a mnemonic to that and try to do it from memory, forget it there’s just too much uncertanty.
Useful for school exams, but in practice I wouldn’t even attempt. Still a neat find though.
I wish white had been reversed. Then it would be, black, Brown, red-> purple (colour spectrum), white, grey,…. Black. Which is. Brown(1), colour spectrum (2-7) white-bksck (8,9,0). But nooooo, they mix up grey and white.
For 0, imagine the infinite void of nothing, just jet black For 1, imagine a big brown cow For 2, imagine a pair of lipstick red lips For 3, just imagine a triangle consisting of three oranges For 4, picture four yellow lemons in a square For 5, imagine a 5 dollar greenback For 6, picture the six morphing into a blue b For 7, imagine a seven tilted into a V for violet For 8, imagine a big grey figure 8 track viewed from a drone For 9, just picture the number 9 as a can of white paint tipped over with paint pouring out
Mnemonic always just made things worse for me. As I had to remember the mnemonic correctly then count to the number. I just dumped all that as it never helped.
For me anyway, the best way was just association. When I see red I think 2 when I see orange I think 3 and so on. I never start at black and go through the colors.
The only time I remembered an order was for wire color code. But I think that is all over now.
Never realized there was a mnemonic. But then again it’s no point remembering them all in a row like that.
I work with low voltage, alarms and such. So I do use resistors often. But I don’t work with 100 different kinds. So I only need to know a few of these to get by. For example, if I see a purple on it, I know it’s 4K7 because that’s the only resistor with a value of 7 that I use. Same goes for 3K9 that it starts with an orange, etc.
That’s all well and good, but my problem is I can’t make out the colors on the blue resistors at all, which somehow make up most of my through hole resistor stock now. They all look like shades of black.
I just use a multimeter if I don’t know what I’m looking at or look up one of those colour calculators. But then again I have my THT resistors nicely sorted
Can you remember the colours of the rainbow minus indigo? Can you remember black and brown at the front and grey and white at the end? Well done, you just memorised the resistor band colour coordination.
I’ll be honest, those charts are the last thing I’ll use for resistors.
1. clearly labeled resistor containers
2. multimeter
3. online resistor decoder
4. paper resistor decode chart
5. memory resistor decode chart
Reading the bands on resistors is error prone enough (is that violet or black? red or brown? It’s even confusing in the post image) then the chart adds another layer of error opportunity. It’s good if there’s no electronic decoder nearby but it’s often quicker to pull up [the decoder](https://www.digikey.com/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-resistor-color-code) than find the decoder sheet. Then add a mnemonic to that and try to do it from memory, forget it there’s just too much uncertanty.
Useful for school exams, but in practice I wouldn’t even attempt. Still a neat find though.
I remember this as: Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Gives Willingly.
Source: My electronics teacher in the 80’s.
Nice, but let’s face it, this is all legacy tech. Just write the value on the SMD tape reel.
“Signficant figures”,”3th digit”… Yeah, someone hasn’t done their homework.
I learnt (Spanish) this from my father:
Necarona Amaveraviogribla
That means nothing in particular
A long list of color code phrases…
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_electronic_color_code_mnemonics
—–
A color chart that you can print on a color printer…
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Resistor_Color_Code.svg
Resistor Color **Magnets** that you can order: (or print these photos)
* https://www.ebay.com/itm/223406186848
* https://www.ebay.com/itm/223294694880
* https://www.ebay.com/itm/224521689753
Resistor Color **Wheels** that you can order:
* https://www.tequipment.net/ElencoCC-100.html
* https://www.ebay.com/itm/271188540570
—–
Black Brown rainbow grey white
can’t you just remember rainbow colors + black/brown
and grey/white (that you never use)
I wish white had been reversed. Then it would be, black, Brown, red-> purple (colour spectrum), white, grey,…. Black. Which is. Brown(1), colour spectrum (2-7) white-bksck (8,9,0). But nooooo, they mix up grey and white.
Indians probably remember BB Roy of Great Britain had a Very Good Wife
Does anyone actually use these anymore, for anything other than personal projects?
For 0, imagine the infinite void of nothing, just jet black
For 1, imagine a big brown cow
For 2, imagine a pair of lipstick red lips
For 3, just imagine a triangle consisting of three oranges
For 4, picture four yellow lemons in a square
For 5, imagine a 5 dollar greenback
For 6, picture the six morphing into a blue b
For 7, imagine a seven tilted into a V for violet
For 8, imagine a big grey figure 8 track viewed from a drone
For 9, just picture the number 9 as a can of white paint tipped over with paint pouring out
OK now try to forget 🤣
ok, NOW I can memorize color code .
Mnemonic always just made things worse for me. As I had to remember the mnemonic correctly then count to the number. I just dumped all that as it never helped.
For me anyway, the best way was just association. When I see red I think 2 when I see orange I think 3 and so on. I never start at black and go through the colors.
The only time I remembered an order was for wire color code. But I think that is all over now.
Or for Dutch people:
“Zij Brengt Rozen Op Gerrits Graf Bij Vies Grijs Weer”
Never realized there was a mnemonic. But then again it’s no point remembering them all in a row like that.
I work with low voltage, alarms and such. So I do use resistors often. But I don’t work with 100 different kinds. So I only need to know a few of these to get by. For example, if I see a purple on it, I know it’s 4K7 because that’s the only resistor with a value of 7 that I use. Same goes for 3K9 that it starts with an orange, etc.
That’s all well and good, but my problem is I can’t make out the colors on the blue resistors at all, which somehow make up most of my through hole resistor stock now. They all look like shades of black.
I remember it as “turn multimeter on to resistance range”
I hate mnemonics like that because i would need another mnemonic to remember in which order black, brown and blue go for example
I just smack my trusty dmm since I am colourblind
If you need a mnemonic, you don’t know it.
To learn resistor color codes, first memorize the chart then use them – a lot. Build stuff. Repair stuff. Make circuits. You will easily know them.
Remember, there are people who know every word in every Shakespeare play. There are people who have memorized the Bible. Teens memorize the Koran.
Heck, you memorized your multiplication tables and many formulas. You can memorize a simple color chart.
mnemonics are lazy and slow, memory is instantaneous.
mine’s different: all letters
it’s easier for me
I only came here to say 3th digit.
I know a few variations on this but I won’t post them because I like having a reddit account.
I’m still trying to understand ‘3th’!
*laughs in colorblind*
I’ve never had a worst time then trying to read these as a colorblind person
Better Be Right Or Your Great Big Venture Goes West. Learned that in 1970, HS freshman electronics class.
What’s so hard about memorizing the order of the colors?
I just use a multimeter if I don’t know what I’m looking at or look up one of those colour calculators. But then again I have my THT resistors nicely sorted
I thought violet gave willingly!
I was taught, Bobby Brown Rapes Other Young Girls But Virgins Go Without.
Well it’s a lot less misogynous than the one I learned.
Can you remember the colours of the rainbow minus indigo? Can you remember black and brown at the front and grey and white at the end? Well done, you just memorised the resistor band colour coordination.