Workshop tools

Quick answers for the everyday questions that come up while identifying parts, reading a schematic and planning a restoration.

Resistor colour-code decoder

Choose the bands on a 4- or 5-band resistor to calculate its resistance and tolerance.

Convert between pF, nF, µF, mF and farads, and decode common three-digit markings.

Enter any two known electrical values and calculate the remaining voltage, current, resistance and power.

Keep replacement capacitors, resistors and other components organized, then export the list as a CSV.

Use the maker and model number to search the best-known vintage-radio archives.

A practical sequence for documenting, inspecting and carefully waking up old equipment.