Red band on a resistor
On a resistor, a red band is the digit 2, the multiplier ×100, or, as the tolerance band at the end, ±2%.
Easily confused with
How to read it
In the IEC 60062 color code red is 2 as a digit band and ×100 as the multiplier, and as the tolerance band it is ±2%, TT Electronics’ tolerance letter G. Vishay, TT Electronics, Panasonic and the University of Central Florida’s lab manual agree on all three. Two red bands and a brown one are 220 Ω: 2, 2 and one zero. NYU’s physical computing course identifies its 220-ohm resistors by exactly those bands, followed by gold.
Also searched as: 2% tolerance band, red band resistor meaning, red resistor band, red stripe on resistor, resistor color code red.
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 red is a temperature coefficient of 50 ppm/K, in Panasonic’s chart and Vishay’s marking sheet alike.
Look-alikes
Red sits between brown and orange in the code. Brown is 1 and ×10; orange is 3 and ×1,000 and has no tolerance value. As a third band, red rather than orange is the difference between 1 kΩ and 10 kΩ.
Read next
- Next in Resistor color codesOrange band on a resistorOn a resistor, an orange band is the digit 3, or as the multiplier band ×1,000: three zeros after the digits. Orange has no tolerance value.
- 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
- 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
- resistors (Lab: Arduino to Digital Audio Workstation), Photo caption, NYU Tisch, ITP Physical Computing, Caption
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
Added .