4k7 resistor

[chris025]

on the rangemaster build it calls for a 4k7 resistor does it matter if its a carbon 4k7 or a 4k7 metal film resistor?

[michal_k]

no, you're not gonna notice the difference.

[chris025]

now is a 4k7 resistor a 4.7k resistor?

[sprog]

Oooo, oooo! I know one!

Yes - 4k7 & 4.7k means the same thing.

[StephenGiles]

I always think the 4k7 way of stating resistor values is the clearest.

[chris025]

its confusing really why cant they just go by one value instead of mixing it up like 4k7 cause i will tell ya for a newbie like me man i was searching and searching sites and googling and i didnt really find anything that could tell me anything other than pics of different types of the 4k7 which was mind boggling too but thats why they have forums thanks for the info

[mdh]

The reason for using notation such as 4k7 rather than 4.7k is that on nth generation photocopies of schematics, trifling things such as decimal points can easily get lost.  Putting the multiplier in there as a separator makes it less likely that the value will be ambiguous given a less than perfect photocopy (or, in our digital age, an image that got resized with loss of resolution).

[demonstar]

By the way for when you come across something like 4R7 that means 4.7ohms.