Obtaining Resistor Values Finding resistor values is a simple process of decoding the color bands on the resistor. Generally, there are four color bands, three value bands and a tolerance band. For standard resistors the tolerance band is either gold (5%) or silver (10%). This is an indication of how accurate the value bands are. The first two value bands correspond to the first two digits of the value. The third value band-closest to the tolerance band-gives the number of zeros after the first two digits. (See example to the right)

Obtaining Capacitor Values Finding capacitor values is similar to finding resistor values without having to decode the colors. Like resistors, the first two digits on the capacitor form the firs two digits of the capacitor value. The third number on the capacitor represents how many zeros follow the first two digits. The value found is in picofarads (pF). (See example to the right)