The 560 ohm resistor color code for a standard 4-band axial resistor is Green (5), Blue (6), Brown (×10), and Gold (±5%). For a 5-band precision resistor, the sequence is Green (5), Blue (6), Black (0), Black (×1), and Gold (±5%) or Brown (±1%). If you are holding a component and need to verify its value immediately, orient the gold or silver tolerance band to the right and read left-to-right.

The 560 Ohm Resistor Color Code Reference Table

Resistor color codes follow a strict positional logic. The table below breaks down the exact band colors for both standard carbon-film (4-band) and precision metal-film (5-band) 560Ω resistors. Keep this chart on your bench for rapid visual identification.

Band Position 4-Band Code (Standard 5%) 4-Band Value Meaning 5-Band Code (Precision 1%) 5-Band Value Meaning
Band 1 (1st Digit) Green 5 Green 5
Band 2 (2nd Digit) Blue 6 Blue 6
Band 3 (3rd Digit) N/A N/A Black 0
Multiplier Band Brown ×10 (56 × 10 = 560) Black ×1 (560 × 1 = 560)
Tolerance Band Gold ±5% (532Ω to 588Ω) Brown ±1% (554.4Ω to 565.6Ω)
Bench Tip: 560Ω is a standard E24 series value. You will rarely see a 5-band 560 ohm resistor unless it is a high-precision 1% or 0.5% metal film type used in analog-to-digital converter (ADC) voltage dividers or precision current-sense circuits.

Decoding the Rings: What Each Row Means and Common Misreads

The physical layout of the bands dictates how you parse the value. The multiplier band is the most common point of failure for hobbyists reading the 560 ohm resistor color code under poor lighting. Here is what each row means in practice, followed by the specific rows people get wrong.

What the Rows Mean in Practice

  • Significant Digits (Bands 1 & 2): Green (5) and Blue (6) establish the base number 56. This is derived from the IEC 60062 standard color-digit mapping.
  • Multiplier (Band 3 or 4): This is not a digit; it is a power of ten. Brown means 10¹ (or ×10). You append one zero to 56, yielding 560. In a 5-band resistor, the third digit is Black (0), making the base 560, and the multiplier is Black (10⁰ or ×1), leaving the value at 560.
  • Tolerance (Final Band): This defines the manufacturing variance. Gold means the actual measured resistance can fall anywhere between 532Ω and 588Ω. If your circuit requires exactly 560.0Ω, a gold-band resistor will not suffice.

The Rows People Get Wrong

Warning: Misreading the multiplier or tolerance band can lead to inserting a 5.6kΩ resistor into a 560Ω slot, potentially starving a microcontroller GPIO pull-up or over-driving an LED.
  • Brown vs. Red Multiplier: Brown is ×10 (yielding 560Ω). Red is ×100 (yielding 5,600Ω or 5.6kΩ). Under warm LED bench lights, brown and red look nearly identical. Always verify with a multimeter if the multiplier band looks reddish.
  • Gold vs. Yellow: Gold is exclusively a tolerance band (±5%) or a rare multiplier (×0.1). Yellow is a multiplier (×10k). Beginners sometimes read a gold tolerance band as a yellow multiplier, or vice versa. Remember: gold and silver are almost never used as significant digits.
  • Reading Backwards: If you read a 4-band 560Ω resistor backwards (Gold-Brown-Blue-Green), you would attempt to parse Gold as a digit, which is invalid. Always orient the gold/silver band to the far right. If there is no gold/silver band (e.g., a 20% tolerance resistor with no tolerance ring), the gap between the multiplier and the last digit is usually wider.

Standard Variants: IEC 60062, EIA, and SMD Equivalents

While the colors remain consistent globally, the governing standards and package types dictate how you source and verify the part.

IEC 60062 vs. EIA RS-279

Historically, the US relied on EIA RS-279 while Europe and Asia used IEC 60062. Today, these standards are fully harmonized for axial leaded resistors. Whether you buy from a US distributor like DigiKey or an EU supplier like Farnell, the color code mappings remain identical. There are no regional color variations for standard through-hole resistors.

Surface Mount Device (SMD) Equivalents

If you are transitioning from through-hole to SMD PCB assembly, color codes do not apply. Instead, SMD resistors use a 3-digit or 4-digit alphanumeric code. For a 560 ohm SMD resistor:

  • 3-Digit Code (5% tolerance): 561 (56 × 10¹ = 560Ω)
  • 4-Digit Code (1% tolerance): 5600 (560 × 10⁰ = 560Ω)
  • EIA-96 Code (0603 package): 75C (75 = 590 base in the EIA-96 lookup table, C = ×0.01 — wait, 560 is not a standard EIA-96 value, 562 is. If you strictly need 560Ω in 1%, you will use the standard 4-digit 5600 marking).

Decision Path: Faded, Burnt, or Missing Markings

Carbon composition and older carbon film resistors degrade over time. Heat from nearby components, UV exposure, or flux residue can obscure the 560 ohm resistor color code. Use this decision tree to determine your next step safely.

Symptom / Condition Diagnostic Action Concrete Resolution
Bands are visibly charred or the epoxy body is cracked. Do NOT measure. A burnt resistor indicates a downstream short or over-voltage event. Discard the resistor. Troubleshoot the circuit for shorted semiconductors before installing a replacement.
Bands are faded but body is intact. Desolder one leg and measure with a DMM on the Ω range. If reading is 532Ω–588Ω, reuse it. If out of spec, replace it.
Resistor reads open (OL) on DMM. The internal carbon trace has fractured due to thermal stress. Replace with a modern 1/4W 1% metal film resistor (e.g., Yageo MFR-25 series).
Markings are completely missing (unmarked axial component). Measure out-of-circuit. If it reads ~560Ω, it may be a custom or MIL-spec part. Bag and label it. For new builds, exclusively use color-coded or laser-marked parts to maintain bench sanity.
Definitive Replacement Pick: If your 560Ω carbon film resistor has drifted out of the ±5% tolerance band due to age, do not replace it with another 5% carbon film part. Upgrade to a Yageo MFR-25FBF52-560R (560 ohm, 1/4W, 1%, metal film). It costs roughly $0.02 in bulk, offers vastly superior thermal stability (±50ppm/°C vs ±350ppm/°C for carbon), and the blue epoxy body with clear 5-band printing eliminates future color-reading ambiguity.

Bench Verification and Measurement Protocol

Visual identification via the 560 ohm resistor color code is only the first step. Verification on the bench requires proper multimeter technique to avoid false readings.

  1. Isolate the Component: Never measure a resistor while it is soldered into a live or even unpowered circuit. Parallel paths through ICs, capacitors, and other resistors will pull your reading down. A 560Ω resistor in-circuit might read 140Ω simply because of a parallel 180Ω path. Desolder at least one lead.
  2. Zero Your Probes: Touch your multimeter probes together. Cheap test leads can introduce 0.2Ω to 0.8Ω of resistance. While negligible for a 560Ω measurement, it is a bad habit that will ruin your readings when you move on to measuring 0.1Ω current-sense shunts.
  3. Avoid the Body-Shunt Effect: Hold the resistor by the epoxy body, not the metal leads. If you pinch both metal leads with your fingers while the probes are applied, your body's skin resistance (typically 10kΩ to 100kΩ depending on moisture) will form a parallel circuit. For 560Ω, this won't skew the reading heavily, but for high-value resistors, it causes massive errors.
  4. Verify Against the Datasheet: If you are using a precision Vishay MRS25 series metal film resistor, expect the reading to be within 5.6Ω of the 560Ω nominal target. If your bench ambient temperature is drastically different from 20°C, factor in the temperature coefficient (TCR).

By memorizing the Green-Blue-Brown-Gold sequence and understanding the physical limits of carbon vs. metal film construction, you eliminate guesswork from your troubleshooting workflow. When in doubt, trust the multimeter over faded paint, and default to 1% metal film replacements for long-term circuit stability.