Digital Multimeter (DMM)

Used to measure the following:

Voltage – DC and AC
Current – DC and AC
Resistance
Capacitance
Temperature – w/ extra probe

Also used to check:

Diodes
Transistors 1
 We’ll Use the DMM to Measure
Resistance
• Resistors restrict the flow of current, given a
fixed voltage
• Unit = Ohms, Ω
• They come in different packages

2
 Color Code
• The resistors we’ll test have a color code
to identify their resistance and tolerance.

3
 Resistor Color Band Code
Band 1 (closest to the end) – first
digit
Band 2 – second digit
Band 3 – power of ten multiplier
(most cases simply the number of
zeros)
Band 4 – tolerance (Red = 2%, Gold
= 5%, Silver = 10%, none = 20%)

Color Value Color Value

Black 0 Green 5
Brown 1 Blue 6
Red 2 Violet 7
Orange 3 Gray 8
Yellow 4 White 9 4
 What is “Tolerance” about?
• If a resistor has a nominal value of 1000 Ω
and a tolerance of ± 10 % then individual
resistors with the same nominal value are
allowed to vary in their actual values from
900 Ω to 1100 Ω and still be considered
acceptable.
• Any resistor fabricated with an actual
value outside that range should be
rejected as “not meeting specifications”.

5
 Practice Problems
Determine the nominal value of resistance and
the tolerance for resistors having the following
color codes.
• Brown Green Red Silver
• Yellow Violet Orange Gold
• Red Red Red

Determine the color code to specify each of the

following resistors

• 1 kΩ
• 390 kΩ
• 56Ω
6