Lacquer coating (5 bands) · brown-black-black-red = 10 kΩTolerance band (brown = 1%)Pins

Blue body, five color bands (brown-black-black-red-brown = 10 kΩ ±1%), axial leads
Body ≈ 6.3 × 2.4 mm, leg ≈ 28 mm

Resistors

Metal film resistor

In simple terms

What is this?

The same narrow pipe as a carbon resistor, but made more neatly and more precisely.

What is it for?

Its value changes little with temperature and its noise is low; it gives precise adjustment in measurement and audio circuits.

Where do you see it?

On the boards of audio amplifiers and measuring instruments.

How do you spot it?

Usually a blue cylindrical body with five colored bands; it is told apart from the carbon type by the number of bands.

Caution:

Do not read five bands as four bands; if you mix up the reading direction, you get a wrong value.

Technical definition

A fixed resistor made by coating a thin layer of metal alloy (mostly nickel-chrome) on a ceramic rod. Its value changes little with temperature and it has low noise. The body is usually blue and coded with five bands.

Tolerance±1%

Power0.25 W

Temp. coeff.±50–100 ppm/°C

Schematic symbol IEC and ANSI differ

IEC 60617: the drawing style used in Türkiye and Europe.

Pins 2

1Pin 1Has no direction, fits either way1

2Pin 2Has no direction, fits either way2

Color code reader

220Ω

±1% · red · red · black · black · brown

Band 1Digit 1

Band 2Digit 2

Band 3Digit 3

Band 4Multiplier

Band 5Tolerance

Reading direction: hold it with the tolerance band (usually gold) on the right. If you are color-blind, read the value from the text above.

Features typical

Power: 0.25 W (70 °C)
Tolerance: ±1% (brown band)
Temperature coefficient: ±50–100 ppm/°C
Value series: E96 (E24 is also available)
Value range: 1 Ω – 10 MΩ
Max. operating voltage: 250 V
Example part: MF 1/4 W ±1% (MFR-25)

Common mistakes

Reading five rings as fourOn a metal film resistor the first three bands are digits and the fourth is the multiplier. If you read it as four bands, the value comes out completely wrong.

Mixing up the reading directionThe tolerance band sits slightly apart from the others. Hold it with the wide gap on the right and read from the left.

Mixing up similar colorsOn a blue body, brown, red and orange are easy to confuse. Look in good light, and measure with the multimeter if in doubt.

Test with a multimeter

Test whether this part is good with the multimeter on the measurement screen.

Take a measurement

Where it is used

Voltage divider and referenceOp-amp gain resistorsMeasurement circuitsLow-noise audio circuit