Electronic color code
indicator for the values or ratings of electronic components, very commonly for resistors
An electronic color code is a system which wordlessly identifies either the functions of cables and connections, or the types and variants of electronic components. Codes for cables and connections range from the use of pink, blue, and green connectors on computer sound cards, to early attempts at standardizing the colors of battery, loudspeaker, and antenna wires of radio sets in the 1920s, to the 25-pair color code, used in telecommunications cables. Among the component identification applications, those used on resistors are most widespread, with usage on inductors also popular, while in the past, many variations were applied to capacitors, diodes, and other part types.
History
Before standardization, some manufacturers used their own color codings on the fixed resistors in their radio sets, seemingly choosing a random color for each part stock number. Then, in 1930, a new code started coming into wide usage among radio makers. This new style encoded the resistance value of each part by means of one background paint color and usually, two additional paint marks. The Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA) gave its endorsement of this coding around 1931. This all-over painted, "body-end-dot" coding style, while most vividly associated with pre-war radio equipment, did live on for a while, and was still in use in the 1960s.
In 1935, advertisements appeared for resistors coded with a sequence of color bands including one acting as a tolerance indicator; the RMA adopted a standard for this alternative style by 1941. A 1943 reference book, Mechanical Practice gives an early description of a further development.
The public source identifies “Electronic color code” as indicator for the values or ratings of electronic components, very commonly for resistors. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Electronic, color and code.
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This entry incorporates text from “Electronic color code” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.