Three different resistors. You can see each one has a unique color code which indicates its resistance.

Even worse, is the fact that reading the resister color codes, let alone remembering what they mean, is something I’ve always struggled with. That is why I was thrilled when I came across, in my opinion, the easiest to use resistor color code tool on the internet. I’ve relied on a few other online color code tools, but I think you will agree with me when I say that this one is much easier to use. It even passively teaches what the resistor colors mean!

See below for the full resistor tool.
(If it doesn’t load the first time, try reloading this page.)

[uCHobby Resistor Color Code Tool]

Instructions:

• Requirements
  Java is required and a link should appear if you do not already have Java installed. Use this link to get started. With Java installed, the resistor tool should load up automatically.
• Selecting a value
  Click on just about any colored box to change the value for the displayed resistor. Each color table can be used to select a value for the indicated color band.
• Invalid color values
  If you select and invalid set of colors the resistor value and code fields will show Invalid. Note that the valid values table shows all the possible values for the first two bands and changes based on the selected tolerance.
• Common Values
  Click on one of these common resistor values to quickly show the colors for that value.
• Valid Values
  Click on one of the valid values for the first two code digits. This table will help you find the closest valid value when your calculating a resistor for some project.

If you have comments or suggestions, go to the uCHobby Resistor Color Code Tool post.

On that note, if you like microcontrollers and electronics, head over to uCHobby. They have tons of cool stuff there.