Introduction to Lab Equipment,

TITLE : Measurement of resistance through color codes.

DATE OF
: ____________________
EXPERIMENT

LAB NUMBER : 01

INSTRUCTOR : ____________________

: _________________________
SUBMITTED BY __

_________________________
ROLL NO :
Objectives:
 To become familiar with different types of resistor types.
 To obtain the resistance using color-coding scheme.
Equipment Required:
 Breadboard
 Digital Multi-meter (DMM)
 DC Power Supply: +12V (fixed)
 Resistors: Resistors: 680-Ω [Qty = 1]; 6 different unknown resistors [Qty = 1 each]
 Connecting wires
Theory:
A breadboard allows you to build a prototype circuit that can be quickly changed as the design
changes. It also helps when trying to become familiar with a new component. Breadboards are
very simple but there are some things to know and perhaps some tips to help you choose the
right breadboard and to get the most use out of it.
The surface of board is covered in pinholes into which you can insert wires or electric
component leads. Beneath the plastic surface, the holes are connected with a network of metal
tabs. But not all pinholes are connected together. Every row in each of the two main columns
is wired together.
You can also see a series of pinhole groups arranged in columns along the left and right sides
of the board. These are useful for wiring global signals and power supply voltages.

Making a connection between two components is simple once you understand the internal
wiring of the board. Let’s take a simple example of connected two resistors in series or in
parallel. The general wiring fabric of the breadboard provides an unlimited number of
possibilities, but we want to focus on the efficient implementations. Never use more jumper
wire than necessary! Let the breadboard do the work for you.

Figure below, shows 3 examples of series wiring and 2 examples of parallel wiring. The
pinholes where the component leads connect to the board are exaggerated with big circles.
 These few examples show you the basics and give you enough knowledge to do the labs. A
few general points to remember when you begin wiring a circuit:
Try to use the breadboard to make connections, i.e. avoid the use of extra jumper
wire. Murphy’s Law tells us that the more wire you use; the more likely you are to make an
error by shorting two wires or incorrectly wiring the circuit.

When you use extra jumper wire, keep it as short as possible.

Keep related components together.
Make the circuit on the breadboard look as much as possible like the schematic you’re
implementing. The visual correspondence will help you differentiate the various nodes.

Resistor:

A passive component that is specifically designed to have a certain amount of resistance to

the flow of current is called a resistor (R). The principal applications of resistors are to limit
the current in a circuit or to divide the voltage. It works on the principle of Ohm’s law and the
law states that the voltage across the terminals of a resistor is directly proportional to the
current flowing through it. The unit of resistance is Ohm. There are different types of resistors
available in the market with diverse rating and sizes. Some of them are described below.
Types of Resistors:
1. Wire wound Resistors:
These resistors vary in physical appearance and size. These wire-wound resistors are
commonly a length of wires usually made of an alloy such as nickel chromium or copper-
nickel manganese alloy. These resistors are the oldest type of resistors having excellent
properties like high power ratings and low resistive values. During their use, these resistors
can become very hot, and for this reason these are housed in a finned metal case.

Figure 1.1: Wire wound Resistors

2. Carbon film Resistor:

Carbon film resistors have the carbon film on the ceramic former and they are covered
with insulation coating material like epoxy (for protection). This type of resistor is not used
today, as superior resistor technologies are available in lower cost. Carbon film resistors are
formed by cracking of hydrocarbons on a ceramic former, which makes carbon film on it.
After that connection are added and a helix cut is given to adjust the value of resistance.
Helix cut is the smooth curve on the surface; this makes these resistors inductive and makes
them usable in RF applications. The helix curve is indicated as a trimming line. An electrode
cap is connected to the lead wire for closing the carbon film.

Figure 1.2: Carbon film Resistor

3. Metal oxide film Resistor:

This type of resistor is widely used today. They are far better than the carbon film
resistors. Here, metal oxides (metal film) like tin oxide are deposited on the ceramic carrier.
Then resistance is adjusted by using the trimming line. These are similar to carbon-film
resistors and their resistivity is controlled by the thickness of the coating layer. The outer
covering is covered by an epoxy protection layer (insulation coating). The properties like
reliability, accuracy and stability are considerably better for these resistors and thus make
them far superior from carbon film resistors. These resistors can be obtained in a wide range
of resistance values (from a few ohms to millions of ohms).

Figure 1.3: Metal oxide film

Resistor

4. Thick film and Thin film Resistors:

Thin film resistors are made by sputtering some resistive material on to an insulating
substrate (a method of vacuum deposition), and are therefore more expensive than the thick
film resistors. The resistive element for these resistors is approximately 1000 angstroms. Thin
film resistors have better temperature coefficients, lower capacitance, low parasitic
inductance and low noise.

Figure 1.4: Thick film and Thin film Resistors

These resistors are preferred for microwave active and passive power components
such as microwave power terminations, microwave power resistors and microwave power
attenuators. These are mostly used for applications that require high accuracy and high
stability. Usually thick film resistors are made by mixing ceramics with powered glass, and
these films have tolerances ranging from 1 to 2%, and a temperature coefficient between +
200 or +250 and -200 or -250. These are widely available as low-cost resistors and compared
with the thin film, thick film resistive element is thousands times thicker.
5. Surface mount Resistors:
Surface mount resistors come in a variety of packages size and shape agreed by the
EIA (Electronic Industry Alliance). These are made by depositing a film of resistive material
and don’t have enough space for color-code bands owing to small size. The tolerance may be
as low as 0.02% and consists of 3 or 4 letters as an indication. The smallest size of the 0201
package is a tiny 0.60mm x 0.30mm resistor and this three number code works in a similar
way to the color-code bands on wire-ended resistors.

Figure 1.5: Surface Mount Resistors

6. Network Resistors:
Network resistors are a combination of resistances that give identical value to all pins.
These resistors are available in dual inline and single inline packages. Network resistors are
commonly used in applications such as ADC (analog to digital converters) and DAC (digital
to analog converters), pull up or pull down.

Figure 1.6: Network Resistors

Variable Resistors:

Most commonly used types of variable resistors are potentiometers and presets. These resistors
consist of fixed value of resistance between two terminals and are mostly used for setting the
sensitivity of sensors and voltage division. A wiper (moving part of the potentiometer) changes
the resistance that can be rotated with the help of a screwdriver. These resistors have three tabs,
in which the wiper is the middle tab that acts as a voltage divider, when all the tabs are used.
When the middle tab is used along with the other tab, it becomes a rheostat or variable resistor.
When only the side tabs are used, then it behaves as a fixed resistor.

Figure 1.7: Variable Resistors

7. Special Resistors:
These are classified into two types:
a. Light-Dependent Resistors
b. Thermistors
a. Light-Dependent Resistors (LDR):
Light-dependent Resistors are shortly known as LDRs. LDR is a type of variable
resistor in which the value of resistance changes with the light intensity that falls on it. Light-
dependent resistors have a photosensitive track made up of cadmium and silicon, which is
sensitive towards the light. When the resistor is in darkness, its resistance is very high (MΩ)
while in light, the resistance falls down to a few kΩ. These resistors come in different shapes
and colors. Depending upon the ambient light, these resistors are used to turn ‘ON’ or turn
‘OFF’ devices. LDRs are very useful in different electronic circuits, especially in clocks,
alarms and streetlights.

Figure 1.8: Light-Dependent Resistors

Thermistors:
The thermistor is an electrical resistor whose resistance is greatly reduced by heating, used
for measurement and control. There are two types of thermistors:
Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) Thermistor:
In NTC thermistor, resistance decreases with increase in temperature. The symbol of
the NTC thermistor has -t because it has a negative temperature coefficient.

Figure 1.9: NTC Thermistor

There are two ways to change the temperature of the NTC thermistor. First is, by
changing atmosphere temperature and the other is by increasing current in the thermistor. By
increasing the current, there will be a heating effect in the resistor and thus it will change its
resistance by its own heat. This is called the self-heating effect.

Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) Thermistor:

In PTC thermistor, resistance increases with increase in temperature. The symbol of
PTC thermistor has +t because it has a positive temperature coefficient. PTC thermistors are
used widely as self-regulatory heaters. When the high amount of current is passed through it,
more heat is evolved and thus the resistance of thermistor increases dramatically. Thus, they
are often used in temperature-dependent time delay circuits. PTC thermistors are also used for
measuring temperature but in this process, it consumes the very negligible amount of current,
which makes it very useful for this application.
Power Rating of Resistors:

In addition to have required ohmic value, a resistor should have a wattage rating high
enough to dissipate the power produced by the current flowing through the resistance without
becoming too hot. Carbon resistors in normal operation often become warm, but they should
not get so hot that they “sweat” beads of liquid on the insulating case. Wire-wound resistors
operate at very high temperatures; a typical value is 300°C for the maximum temperature. If a
resistor becomes too hot because of excessive power dissipation, its resistance can change
 appreciably or it may burn out. The power rating is a physical property that depends on the
resistor construction, especially physical size. Note the following key points:
 A larger physical size indicates a higher power rating.

 Higher wattage resistors can operate at higher temperatures.

 Wire-wound resistors are larger and have higher wattage ratings than carbon film resistors.

Resistor’s Color-Coding:

Fixed resistors with tolerances of 5% or 10% are color-coded with four bands
to indicate the resistance value and the tolerance. This color-code band system is
shown in Figure 1.10, and the color-code is listed in Table 1.1. The bands are always
closer to one end of the resistor.

Table 1.1

Color Digit
Black 0
Brown 1
Red 2

i. First band … 1st digit Orange 3

ii. Second band … 2nd digit Yellow 4

iii. Third band … Multiplier Green 5

Blue 6
Violet 7
Gray 8
White 9

Gold ± 5%
iv. Fourth band … Tolerance
Silver ± 10%

Figure 1.10
Five-Band Color-Code:

Certain precision resistors (typically metal -film resistors) with tolerances of 2%, 1%,
or less are generally color-coded with five bands. Begin at the band closest to one end. The
first band is the first digit of the resistance value, the second band is the second digit, the third
band is the third digit, the fourth band is the multiplier (number of zeros after the third digit),
and the fifth band indicates the percent tolerance. In the fifth band, the brown, red, green,
blue and violet colors represent the following tolerances (see Table 1.2).

Table 1.2

Tolerance
Color
(%)
Brown ±1
Red ±2
Green ± 0.5
Blue ± 0.25
Violet ± 0.1

Procedure: (How to find Resistance using color-coding scheme and DMM)

a. Pick up a resistor with color bands printed on it and note down the band
colors in Table 1.3.
b. Compute its resistance using color-code scheme and record in Table 1.3.
c. Now measure its resistance using DMM and record in the last column of Table
1.3.
d. Repeat step 1(a) to 1(c) for five different resistors and record your
observations in Table 1.3.
 Table 1.3

3rd
1st 2nd Coded
Band 4th Measured
Sr. Band Band Resistance
No. Band Resistance
No. (calculated)
1st 2nd of Tolerance (Ω)
(Ω)
digit digit zeros
680 - 34 =
Min.
1 Blue Grey Brown Gold 646 Ω
6 8 0 ± 5%
680 + 34 =
Max. 714 Ω

Min.
2
Max.

Min.
3
Max.

Min.
4

Max.

Min.
5

Max.

Min.
6

Max.
_________________________________________________________________________
Rubric 1
Marks CLO1 – Level P2 mapped to PLO 1 (Basic Engineering Knowledge)

02 Is not able to identify the basic electrical engineering lab apparatus.

Major help is required in doing so.
06 Is able to identify the basic electrical engineering lab apparatus with
minor error help.
10 Is able to identify the basic electrical engineering lab apparatus
effectively and confidently.

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