I recently inherited some furniture, including a computer desk and chest of drawers. I’m now using the computer desk as my operating desk and the chest of drawers for storage. In moving stuff out of the small kid’s desk that I was using for storage, I’ve come across a bunch of amusing little things that I’d squirreled away. One of them is this IRC Resist-O-Guide.
You simply dial in the colors on your resistor, and it tells you the value! On the back is a list of all the standard values.
I’m not sure how I came into possession of this little wonder. It was obviously given out as swag by a company called Master Electronics, which at one time was prosperous enough to have outlets on both the east side and west side of Detroit. Perhaps my dad picked it up at one of the stores. He used to build hi-fi kits back in the day.
As far as IRC goes, the brand is now owned by TT Electronics, a UK company. I’ve sent them an e-mail, asking if the Resist-O-Guide might still be available, but I doubt that it is.
UPDATE 2/28/17
This morning, I received a reply to my inquiry from Tom Morris, Applications Engineer-Eastern US, Resistors. He says,
Hi Dan,
Thank you so much for the trip down memory lane. I remember these well. Unfortunately, they are not available anymore. I did see a large quantity on eBay for sale a couple years ago, though.
Thanks so much.
-Tom
I replied that I figured as much, and that it’s debatable as to whether or not something like the Resist-O-Guide is still useful, given that the majority or resistors are probably now surface mount components.
Tom replied to that, “Actually there are still a relatively large number sold with color coding. I’d guesstimate that 15% are still color coded. “
Dave New, N8SBE says
I’m certain I’ve seen these before at swaps, likely with some other store’s name on it. In the Nashville, TN area, there was an Allied store, which we used to visit when going to the 1717 West End building for our quarterly amateur exams. Seems I remember seeing Allied ones at the Music City hamfest and other local Tennessee hamfests. I might even have had one at one time, or at least one of my friends in the Murfreesboro Central High School radio club.
Dan KB6NU says
See Sam’s reply below. :)
Sam W5KF says
Hey!!! I’ve got one of those…..
As you can see, mine came from Allied Radio in Chicago. I got this when I was a kid. I spent much of my paper route money on parts and neat stuff— mostly mail ordered from Allied. I’d make out an order and give my Dad the cash. He would write a check, and then we’d mail it off. Ten days or two weeks later, it was excitement!
Thanks for the memory.
Dan KB6NU says
Very cool, Sam. I actually like the Ohmite Little Devil more than the Resist-O-Guide.
And, as far as Allied Radio goes, your experience meshes with mine exactly. I loved getting stuff from Allied and Lafayette and Burstein-Applebee…
Stephen Oxley says
Hi Dan,
Thanks for this fascinating piece of IRC history. Is that date 1958? I’ve not seen this before, though you may be interested in something older on our website – the 1933 IRC resistor catalog.
Stephen Oxley, MEng CEng MIET
Senior Engineer, Applications & Marketing
Resistors Business Unit
Jessica Kz. says
Thank you for this post! I found one of these in one of grandpa’s notebooks today and didn’t even have a guess as to what it was. I appreciate the information. 😊😊
Dan KB6NU says
Cool. Was your grandfather an amateur radio operator or electronics hobbyist?