Brown band on a resistor
On a resistor, a brown band is the digit 1, the multiplier ×10, or, as the tolerance band at the end, ±1%.
How to read it
In the IEC 60062 color code brown is 1 as a digit band and ×10 as the multiplier: brown, black, brown is 100 Ω, the first example in the University of Texas at Dallas lab manual. As the tolerance band brown is ±1%, which TT Electronics gives the tolerance letter F. Vishay uses the five-band code for its resistors of ±1% and tighter, and TT Electronics’ five-band example ends in brown: yellow, violet, black, red, brown is 47 kΩ ±1%.
Also searched as: 1% tolerance band, brown band resistor meaning, brown resistor band, brown stripe on resistor, resistor color code brown.
This explains what a resistor’s markings mean. Marking schemes vary between makers and series, and the part’s own datasheet takes precedence. It is not a guide to building or repairing electronics.
As a sixth band
On a six-band resistor brown is a temperature coefficient of 100 ppm/K. Panasonic’s chart and Vishay’s marking sheet both give that value.
At either end
Brown can be the first band and the last on the same resistor, as on a 10 kΩ ±1% resistor (brown, black, black, red, brown). TT Electronics says the tolerance band is wider than the others or further from them, which is what tells the two ends apart.
Where the charts disagree
The University of Central Florida’s lab manual table gives brown no tolerance. Vishay, TT Electronics and Panasonic give it ±1%.
Read next
- Next in Resistor color codesRed band on a resistorOn a resistor, a red band is the digit 2, the multiplier ×100, or, as the tolerance band at the end, ±2%.
- The same shape in Smoke and CO alarm soundsLow-frequency 520 Hz alarm (sleeping rooms)A fire alarm in a sleeping room that sounds a low buzz in place of a high-pitched beep. It is the three-beep fire alarm rhythm at 520 Hz, which NFPA 72 requires of alarms provided to wake people in sleeping areas.
More resistor color codes
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with letters and numbers or lines.
Sources
- Surface Mount Resistor Marking, Document number 20020 (revision 25 May 2010), Vishay Draloric (Vishay Intertechnology), Color code table; temperature coefficient marking
- Technical Note TN004: Methods for Marking Values on Resistors, TN004 (09.24), TT Electronics, Colour code table; example 1
- Resistor Color Codes: Thorough Explanations of How to Interpret, Calculate, and Remember Them!, Technical article (24 October 2025), Panasonic Industry, §2 color-to-value chart
- III. Standard Resistor Color Code, EEL 3123 Linear Circuits II Lab Manual, Appendix III (revised March 2023), University of Central Florida, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Table A – 1 Electronic Color Code
- Appendix B: Color Code for Composite Carbon Resistors, EE 1202 lab manual, Appendix B, The University of Texas at Dallas, Digits; example 1
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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