Fun activity: Identify resistors in a circuit board (2024)

The resistor is an essential and fundamental electronic component used to limit or regulate the current and voltage in the circuit. Finding a resistor on a circuit board takes methodical attention and good observation.

To identify resistors in a circuit board you have to carefully observe the circuit. The resistor has colorful bands and two terminals. These color bands can be used to find the resistor in the circuit. Circuit boards often have reference designators printed on them, like R1, R2, R3, etc., which indicate the location of the resistors on the board. You can also use a multimeter in the resistance mode to identify the resistors.

In this article, we’ll perform an activity to identify resistors in a circuit board.

Resistor identification on the circuit board

In electronics, you will work with different electronic components to design various circuits.

Recognizing the resistors on a circuit board is crucial for safety, proper operation, and troubleshooting. But the question is how to identify resistors in a circuit.

Since resistors are essential for regulating the current and voltage levels in circuits, correctly recognizing them aids in problem diagnosis, guards against damage, and guarantees that the circuit functions as intended.

Before identifying the resistor on the circuit board I will suggest you learn the resistor basics.

A resistor can be identified through different methods. Let’s discuss and understand these in detail.

1. Visual inspection

The first method is visual inspection. Carefully see and observe the circuit if you want to find the resistors in the circuit board.

The electronic circuit is made of different electronic components with different shapes and sizes.

Resistors are typically small cylindrical or rectangular components with two leads (axial resistors) or four leads (surface-mount resistors). However, various components with the same texture can also be on the circuit board.

Surface-mount resistors (SMD) are small, rectangular, flat components that often have a printed number indicating their resistance.

2. Color bands

After visual inspection, if you can’t identify resistors in a circuit, look for the components with different color bands.

The resistors have various color bands that define the resistance value. If you see components with multiple color bands or markers it means it is a resistor.

3. SMD markings

If you are working with surface-mount components. The surface-mount resistors usually have numbers printed on them in three or four digits (e.g., “472” for 4.7kΩ).

The first two or three digits represent significant figures, while the last digit represents the multiplier.

4. Reference designators

Circuit boards often have reference designators printed on them, such as R1, R2, R3, and so on.

These designators help identify the location of the resistors on the board. Refer to the circuit board’s documentation or schematic to find the corresponding reference designators for the resistors.

Identify resistors in a circuit

In this section, we’ll consider some circuit boards and will try to find the resistors in the circuit.

We have a circuit with various components connected.

In the above circuit board, we have different components with cylinder and rectangular shapes. There are some components with color bands on them.

So the components with color bands represent the resistors of the circuit.

Now consider another circuit board example to understand more.

In the above picture, there are various electronic components of various colors. Now, to identify resistors on the circuit board, as you can see, we have some components that have color bands.

All these signs identify them as the resistors of the circuit board. Now let us know in the comments circuit how many resistors are there in the above circuit.

Conclusion

A resistor is the main electronic component without it the circuit can not be completed.

A resistor is a component that regulates or limits the current to save the component or a circuit from failure and help ensure its proper functionality.

Identifying the resistors in a circuit board needs proper attention and keen observation.

The resistors also have different color bands that help in determining their resistance values and these color bands can also assist us to find the resistor connected in the circuit board.

Another thing to remember is that some circuit boards also have reference designators printed on them, such as R1, R2, R3, and so on. The ‘R’ represents the resistor.

This is how you can identify the resistor in the circuit boards.

This was all about the identification of resistors, I hope it will be helpful.

Thank you and stay blessed…