# Resistors



## Claudie (Oct 12, 2011)

I have about one cubic foot of these. I am not familiar with what, if any precious metals they contain. I tried a search but didn't find out a whole lot. Maybe I was searching the wrong keywords, I'm not sure. I know these have probably been covered here, I just can't seem to find out where. Can anyone give me a clue?


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## element47 (Oct 12, 2011)

Those look like very nice Allen-Bradley or IRC carbon composition 1/2-watt resistors, 5% tolerance, quality, good demand items among people who build tube equipment. And there are enough of them to market those. There isn't a speck of PMs in them. 1/2 watts (most common type in tube gear) are about 1/8" in diameter and about 1/2" long. 

Step 1: Learn or get a chart of the resistor color code to get an understanding about how the color code works. 

Your brown (1) black (0) green (5) are 1 megohm resistors, eg; 1---0---00000. 

Your brown (1) green (5) orange (3) are 15K ohm resistors. eg; 1---5---000

The gold band means 5% tolerance. 

Not every random number exists, basically, there are 100, 110, 120, 150, 180, 200, 220, 270, 330, 390, 470, 510, 560, 620, 680, 750, 820 values with variable numbers of zeroes. In other words, there are 150 ohms, 1500, 15,000, 150,000. Although some manufacturers ordered custom values, for the most part, they will follow the above numbering scheme. I may have left out a value or two. Google "standard resistor values". http://ecee.colorado.edu/~mcclurel/resistorsandcaps.pdf 

Code: 0 - 10: 
black 0
brown 1
red 2
orange 3 
yellow 4
green 5
blue 6
violet 7
grey 8
white 9 

Step 2: Sort them into same-value groups and KEEP THE PAPER TAPE ON because it proves they are unused NOS even with average photography. 

It'll be a fair amount of tedious work to sort for not much money to list them on ebay but they're probably worth about 20 cents each. On ebay look for "carbon composition resistors". I don't know anything else to do with them unless you're OK with trashing them someday. Check out how some sellers develop assortments.
They are VERY marketable although they aren't worth a heck of a lot in the grand scheme of things. Still, a standard listing template may make your listing life a lot easier.


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## Claudie (Oct 12, 2011)

E-Bay they shall go then. Thank you for the advice. I did notice that some of the items in the box are what I believe to be diodes, they have Gold plated legs. I will have to sort those out.


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## Claudie (Oct 12, 2011)

Do you think this is out of line?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/280754321471?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649


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## element47 (Oct 13, 2011)

It's not out of line at all, pricewise, but almost every electronics afficianado has bought large "lots" of things only to find the values sub-useful. With $7.50 freight, it's not any insane bargain. By not identifying resistance values, the 5% tolerance, I think (no, I am sure) you are devaluing your pile. For example; if all those resistors were custom-made 229 ohm or 304K ohm resistors, nobody would need more than 1 of them in their whole life. Maybe. I realize it's probably a pain in the butt the list the values and at least the approximate qtys of each and will probably consume more minimum-wage time than the dollar yield but I'm just trying to help connect you to that endpoint where you pack this stuff up in a box and ship it somewhere. Gotta list the values and state the wattage (1/2 watt, looks to me) 1 watt would be 1/4" in diameter, about 5/8" long. 

Line them up with all the gold bands to the right. Group them by the band next to the gold band. Overwhelmingly, those will be brown, red, orange, yellow, green. (1,2,3,4, 5) meaning the number of zeroes. Then the two left hand bands will be 10, 12, 15, 22, 33, 47, 56, 68. Nobody can tell if they will ever need them if they don't know the values. I see no way around that.


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## Harold_V (Oct 13, 2011)

If it means anything to you, I purchased (200) blue LED's, along with (200) 1/8 watt resistors off ebay some time ago. They were shipped from Hong Kong to the US, grand total of about $25 for the lot. 

In my estimation, the resistors aren't worth anywhere near the amount you're asking, but do be advised that I am not an electronics tech. I just have memories of buying them by the hundred, from Radio Shack, when they used to sell them that way. Price I paid seems to be in the $4/100 neighborhood. Could be wrong. My memory isn't what it used to be. 

Harold


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## Claudie (Oct 13, 2011)

Thank you both for the input. I have lowered the price to $4.99 with $3.95 shipping. It's been a while since I sold anything on E-Bay, I just wanted to make sure I had my expenses covered. I will determine the resistance values of the next lot. 
Claudie


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## niteliteone (Oct 13, 2011)

If they don't sell You can remove the bodies and tape and scrap them as #1 copper.
I did this for over 9 years usually over 200 lbs a month. The leads were leftovers from autoinsertion machines I maintained. As long as I removed any rejected resistor bodies the scrap yard was glad to get them. 
Tom C


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 13, 2011)

0 - 9 resistor codes, if I remember right

Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Goes Willingly

Black-Brown-Red-Orange-Yellow-Green-Blue-Violet-Gray-White


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## Claudie (Oct 13, 2011)

goldsilverpro said:


> 0 - 9 resistor codes, if I remember right
> 
> Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet goes willingly



I remember that from years back. I have just been away from this for so long, my brain is having to dig it out of the back room.


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## element47 (Oct 13, 2011)

At the risk of spending entirely too much time and mental effort on a sub-$10 batch of parts...

These resistors are not just "resistors"...like brand new LEDs are. Yes, I know that the only thing you would want an LED to do is to light up when the right amount of volts are applied and to NOT light up when insufficient volts are applied. Yes, it is true that one can go buy brand new resistors of the identical values shown for maybe 3-5 cents each in (only 100 or so) quantity. And you would probably not care if they came from China or Elkhart, Indiana, as long as they pretty much maintained their values over time, did not create thermal noise, did not inductively couple noise from one part of a circuit to another, and did not heat up and catch fire. Indeed, the case can easily be made that the newer a given resistor is, the better quality control, the more uniform, the easier the leads will be to solder, and blah, blah, blah. 

I suppose there are not many "fetish" items in refining, but consider the differences in value between the following: 

a 1 troy ounce wad of silver crystals grown in a silver cell, packaged into a used pill bottle or paper envelope or plastic bag. 
a 1 troy ounce generic round, 
a 1 troy ounce Englehard "Prospector" round
a US silver eagle, 
an 1873 1 troy ounce ingot, stamped and dated, from the Leadville mine, from the Comstock Lode in Nevada. 

All of them are 1 troy ounce of silver. 

The raw crystals might only be worth about 85-92% of spot. 
The generic round, spot plus a buck and change.
The Englehard, spot plus $2
The SE, spot plus $3.50
The Leadville ingot might be worth 3-10 times spot. 

These resistors are much closer to the value hierarchy implied near the bottom of this list. But to obtain that value, you are going to have to specify the resistance values.


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## johnny309 (Oct 13, 2011)

If I can help you with the codes.
It's called(well in my parts ROGAVIV)....it is what the light gives from decomposition(spectrum in a prism).

Black = 0
Brown = 1
Red = 2
orange = 3
Yellow = 4
green = 5 
blue = 6
violet = 7
This are the most standard colours.Then follows:

Grey = 8
White = 9
silver = 0.01
gold = 0.1

The algorithm is as follow: first colour,second colour,third colour is a ten factor(let's say red,would be 10 multiplyed by 2 ,10x10=100..........green would be 10 multipyed by 5, 10x10x10x10x10=100000).....

Fourth colour is the tolerance :

Brown = 1%
Yellow =4%
Silver = 10%
gold = 5%

No colour = 20%


Example :
I have a resistor marked : "red,red,red,gold"....the result is 2 and 2 and 10x10(2 times 10) =2200 ohms = 2.2 Kohms,and the tollerance is 5%

Another one......brown,black,yellow,brown.....the result is......1 and 0 and 10x10x10x10.......= 10 x10000...=100000 ohms =100 Kohms and 1% tollerance

For further question don't hesitate to send me a PM....if you find this helpfull.

Yours ,Johnny.


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## Claudie (Oct 13, 2011)

This is just a sample lot to learn from. I have approximately 1 1/2 cubic feet of these in a box. I will probably wait for a winter blizzard when it's too cold to work in the shop. I can bring them in the house to be properly sorted and valued. Glancing in the box this morning I noticed that it contains some capacitors as well.


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## Emmjae (Oct 14, 2011)

element47 said:


> At the risk of spending entirely too much time and mental effort on a sub-$10 batch of parts...
> 
> These resistors are not just "resistors"...like brand new LEDs are. Yes, I know that the only thing you would want an LED to do is to light up when the right amount of volts are applied and to NOT light up when insufficient volts are applied. Yes, it is true that one can go buy brand new resistors of the identical values shown for maybe 3-5 cents each in (only 100 or so) quantity. And you would probably not care if they came from China or *Elkhart, Indiana*, as long as they pretty much maintained their values over time, did not create thermal noise, did not inductively couple noise from one part of a circuit to another, and did not heat up and catch fire. Indeed, the case can easily be made that the newer a given resistor is, the better quality control, the more uniform, the easier the leads will be to solder, and blah, blah, blah.



Not trying to highjack the thread.....just wondering why you referenced *Elkhart, Indiana* ? Did you live there? Thats where my recycling business is located. :lol: 

Mike


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## Claudie (Oct 17, 2011)

So these would be 470 Ohms 5% or 47 Ohms 5%? :|


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## Claudie (Oct 17, 2011)

47 Ohms 5% I think I understand it now. Thanks! Now if I can find the time and patience to sort them all :shock:


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## element47 (Oct 17, 2011)

[edit] >> Oops, you got me excited using "B" which I took to mean BROWN when you meant BLACK. You can't use "B" for an abbreviation! BRN or BLK 

Ignore the following! 

No, those are 470 ohm and THOSE EXACT VALUES in that LARGE SIZE = 1, maybe even 2 watt are desirable things even with the leads trimmed because 470 ohms is what is used as screen resistors in Fender amplifiers! And, they burn up and need replacement. And, it's not a problem having short leads because they are mounted right on the power tube sockets as shown in the above diagram! 

470 ohm = Yel-Viol-Brown. The brown counts! It counts as "one". 4-7-1 

Those are GOODIES! 






Hahaha. That doesn't mean that all the others are good for anything. But see....you HAVE to state values or nobody will buy them.


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## element47 (Oct 17, 2011)

> Not trying to highjack the thread.....just wondering why you referenced Elkhart, Indiana ? Did you live there? Thats where my recycling business is located. :lol:
> 
> Mike



No reason, just meant as a random US town. OTOH, I might have just come from my big band rehearsal, and all those trumpets made me think of Elkhart, IN, lots of brass & wind instruments are (or were) made there. Conn was made there, Buescher, and King also had factories making brass instruments there, I believe.


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## Claudie (Oct 17, 2011)

DOH :shock: 
I am learning.... :|


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