470 Ohm Resistor Color Code
The 470 ohm resistor is one of the most common resistors in electronics and comes in four band, five band, and six band types. The four band 470 resistor is easy to recognize with its’ distinctive pattern of yellow, violet, and brown color bands. The 5 and 6 band versions have a pattern of yellow, violet, black, black, followed by the tolerance band and temperature coefficient band on the 6 band version.
One difficulty is that the 470 ohm resistor is easy to confuse with a 4.7k ohm resistor, so keep this in mind and double-check using the color code and/or a multimeter if possible.
In this article, we’ll learn how to identify 4 band, 5 band, and 6 band 470 Ohm resistors.
470 Ohm Resistor – 4, 5, 6 Band Color Code Chart
| Band One | Band Two | Band Three | Band Four | Band Five | Band Six | |
| Four Band | Yellow (4) | Violet (7) | Brown (x 10) | ± % | – | – |
| Five Band | Yellow (4) | Violet (7) | Black (0) | Black (x 1) | ± % | – |
| Six Band | Yellow (4) | Violet (7) | Black (0) | Black (x 1) | ± % | R(T°) |
470 Ohm Resistor Color Bands
Each band on the 470 ohm resistor has a specific purpose.
All color-coded resistors (regardless of how many bands they have) have at least two digit bands, one multiplier band, and one tolerance band. This is the structure of the four band resistor color coding system; five and six band resistors add to this basic structure.
For this reason, it is easy to learn how to read any type of color coded resistor by first starting with four-band resistors.
In a four band resistor, the first three bands tell us the resistor’s nominal value. This is the ‘rated’ value of the resistor, but may not be the exact value. Resistors are specified to fall within a certain tolerance % of the nominal value.
The 4th band gives us the tolerance of the resistor. Even though the resistor is given a 470 ohm nominal value, the actual resistance will vary a bit above or below the nominal value. The tolerance tells us the range that we can expect; higher quality resistors will have an improved tolerance over lower quality ones.
In a five band resistor, the first four bands tell us the nominal value of the resistor. Note that a five band resistor’s extra band is used to add a digit to the nominal value. Think of it as an extra digit band added to the front, with the other bands retaining the same function as those of a four band resistor. The last band (i.e. the fifth band) still identifies the tolerance.
Six band resistors add another color band at the end of the resistor that tells us the temperature coefficient. This is an indication of how sensitive the resistor is to temperature changes.
Helpful Tips for Using Resistor Color Codes:
1) Start by identifying the last band first. On four and five band resistors, the last band is usually gold or silver and should be separated from the other bands by a small gap. This band gives us the tolerance of the 470 Ohm resistor. On six band resistors, the last two bands should be tightly grouped, and the first four bands should be tightly grouped. There should be a noticeable gap between the fourth and fifth band.
2) After identifying the last band, look at the bands on the opposite side of the resistor. The first two bands give us a base value, which needs to be multiplied by the multiplier to identify the full resistance value. On the 470 ohm resistor, we are looking for a yellow band next to a violet band, which should be easy to spot.
3) The third band is the multiplier. Multiply the value designated by the first two bands with the multiplier to find the full value of the resistor.
This process is covered in greater detail below.
470 Ohm Resistor Color Chart
| Band Number | Function | Color | Value | |
| 1 | 1st Digit | Yellow | 4 | |
| 2 | 2nd Digit | Violet | 7 | |
| 3 | Multiplier | Brown | x 10 | |
| 4 | Tolerance | Gold (or silver) | ± 5% (± 10% for silver) | |
| Total Value: 470 ± 5% Ω |
How To Read the 470 Ohm Resistor Color Code
Resistor color codes all consist of digits followed by a multiplier and a tolerance value.
Four band resistors have two bands for digits, while five and six band resistors have three bands for digits. The band following the digit bands is the multiplier, which is followed by the tolerance value band.
Six band resistors also add a temperature coefficient.
This might seem complex at first, but it’s actually very easy to learn.
It’s best and easiest to learn four band resistors first. Once you learn the four band system, it is very easy to understand five and six band resistor color codes.
The Four Band 470 Ohm Resistor
Each band on the resistor has a specific role:
Band One – 1st Digit: The first digit of the nominal resistance value. The first band on a 470 ohm resistor is yellow, which corresponds to a value of 4.
Band Two – 2nd Digit: The second digit of the nominal resistance value. This band is violet, which corresponds to the value 7. This is added to the right of the first digit (from band one).
Therefore the digits from band one and band two are: 4 & 7 = 47.
Band Three – Multiplier: Takes the digits and multiplies them by a value given by this band. The value of the multiplier is 10n, where n is the numerical value that corresponds to the color of the band. In this case, the third band is brown, which corresponds to the number 1. Therefore the multiplier is 101 = 10.
The total value of the resistance is 47 (from digits) x 101 (from multiplier) Ω = 470 Ω.
Band Four – Tolerance: The most common values are 5% (designated by a gold band), and 10% (designated by a silver band). This example uses a gold band, giving us a tolerance of 5%.
The total resistance is therefore: 470 Ω ± 5% Ω.
Resistor Tolerance, In-Depth
Five percent of 470 Ω is 23.5 Ω. This means that the actual resistance value could be anywhere from 446.5 Ω (470 Ω – 23.5 Ω) to 493.5 Ω (470 Ω + 23.5 Ω).
If the fourth band is silver, the tolerance is 10% and the total resistance is 470 Ω ± 10% Ω. The actual resistance will be between 423 Ω (470 Ω – 47 Ω) and 517 Ω (470 Ω + 47 Ω).
Resistors dissipate energy as heat, so temperature dependence is also a consideration. In 6 band resistors, the temperature dependence is given by the last band (more on this below).
4-Band vs. 5-Band vs. 6-Band 470 Ohm Resistor Color Code
In addition to four band resistors, you will encounter 5 band and 6 band resistors.
It is easy to read 5 or 6 band resistors if you already know how to read the four band resistor color code.
4-Band vs. 5-Band vs. 6-Band 470 Ohm Resistor Color Code Table
| 4-Band Resistor | 5-Band Resistor | 6-Band Resistor | |
| 1st band | 1st digit of resistance value (Yellow- 4) | 1st digit of resistance value (Yellow- 4) | 1st digit of resistance value (Yellow- 4) |
| 2nd band | 1st digit of resistance value (Violet – 2) | 1st digit of resistance value (Violet – 2) | 1st digit of resistance value (Violet – 2) |
| 3rd band | Multiplier (Brown, x 10) | 3rd digit of resistance value (Black – 0) | 3rd digit of resistance value (Black – 0) |
| 4th band | Tolerance (± %) | Multiplier (Black, x 1) | Multiplier (Black, x 1) |
| 5th band | N/A | Tolerance (± %) | Tolerance (± %) |
| 6th band | N/A | N/A | Temperature Coefficient R(T°) |
5 Band 470 Ohm Resistor Color Code
For 470 Ohm resistors with five bands, the first three bands will be yellow, violet, and black (indicating 470) and the fourth band will be black indicating a multiplier of 100 = 1.
| Band Number | Function | Color | Value | |
| 1 | 1st Digit | Yellow | 4 | |
| 2 | 2nd Digit | Violet | 7 | |
| 3 | 3rd Digit | Black | 0 | |
| 4 | Multiplier | Black | x 1 | |
| 5 | Tolerance | Gold (or silver) | ± 5% (or ± 10%) | |
| Total Value: 470 ± 5% Ω |
4 Band vs. 5 Band 470 Ohm Resistor
We’ve seen that four band resistors have two bands for the value, one for the multiplier, and one for the tolerance.
Going from a four band resistor to a five band resistor is easy; five band resistors add an extra digit band for the value.
Therefore five band resistors have three bands for the value, one for the multiplier, and one for the tolerance. The process of analyzing the resistor is the same as with a four band resistor. Start by looking for a small gap between the fourth and fifth bands. As with four band resistors, the last band tells us the tolerance. Then go back to the first four bands to calculate the resistance value.
For a 470 ohm resistor with five bands, we should see an order of: yellow (4), violet (7), black (0), brown (x10), gold or silver (± 5% or 10%).
6 Band 470 Ohm Resistor
| Band Number | Function | Color | Value | |
| 1 | 1st Digit | Yellow | 4 | |
| 2 | 2nd Digit | Violet | 7 | |
| 3 | 3rd Digit | Black | 0 | |
| 4 | Multiplier | Black | x 100 = 10 | |
| 5 | Tolerance | Gold (or silver) | ± 5% | |
| 6 | Temp. Coefficient | Any | See Chart Below | |
| Total Value: 470 ± 5% Ω |
Six band resistors are exactly like five band resistors except they have an extra band to indicate the temperature coefficient, i.e. how much the resistance will change with temperature.
In a six band resistor, the last two bands (i.e. the fifth and sixth bands) should be closely spaced, with a gap between the fourth and fifth bands.
They are read exactly the same way as five band resistors, except that the (additional) last band tells us the temperature coefficient.
You can determine the temperature coefficient by comparing the band color with the table below:
| Color | Temperature Coefficient |
|---|---|
| Black | N/A |
| Brown | 100 ppm/ºC |
| Red | 50 ppm/ºC |
| Orange | 15 ppm/ºC |
| Yellow | 25 ppm/ºC |
| Green | N/A |
| Blue | 10 ppm/ºC |
| Violet | 5 ppm/ºC |
| Grey | N/A |
| White | N/A |
The 470 Ohm resistor color code is relatively easy to learn for any type of resistor. The distinctive pattern of the yellow and violet bands makes them easy to spot.
However, they may be easily confused with 4.7k ohm resistors, which also feature yellow and violet bands, so it’s important to verify using the color code or a multimeter if possible.
