Improper way the express resistance?

[theAnonymous1]

Is it acceptable to express resistance values with an "R" as opposed to "ohm" or "Ω"?

For example; instead of "10 ohm", can it be expressed as "10R"?

Also, for fractions of an ohm, is "0R1" an acceptable alternative to "0.1 ohm"

[John Caswell]

Yes,
It is now a very common and accepted way to designate resistors.

John Caswell

[theAnonymous1]

Thanks for the response John.

I'll admit; I already knew the answer before I asked, but there are a few people out there that think I'm a lunatic for expressing resistance values this way. I just needed confirmation that my sanity is still in check.

[DcibeL]

When I was in school, I was told that we generally use "R" in place of decimals, so when reading a photocopies schematic we do not mistake the decimal for some spec in the photocopy process.

[Enzo]

Other units are similarly expressed. 1.5k resistor is now often 1k5. I am really old school, myself, I have been soldering for 55 years now. I sometimes slip and write cps instead of Hz. And I doubt I will ever comfortably start using nf - nanofarad - units. But I have to say I like this particular change, even if I have to think about it to use it. And even if I personally would never write 4n7 for a cap, I immediately understand it when I see it.

[Speedskater]

Enzo how about "mm" (Micky Mikes) for picofarad?

[nigelwright7557]

Originally Posted by theAnonymous1

Also, for fractions of an ohm, is "0R1" an acceptable alternative to "0.1 ohm"

It is much better to use the R as a decimal point as a dot can be missed easily.

[theAnonymous1]

Ah, how silly of us. After all, you found 5 people on the internet who agree with you. And such an authoritative source too. Do It Yourself Audio.

Oh well, I tried.

I guess I will try to stick with the word "ohm" and use a dot as a separator on forums were people have comprehension problems.

[TheSeekerr]

Maybe it's common in some countries but not others?

I just finished my first year of an EE degree, and we were taught to do it this way. It minimises reading error.

"Often a shorthand is used which means that the Ω symbol, which is usually not easily accessed on a computer, is not needed. The shorthand also eliminates the need for decimal points which are sometimes lost or missed off when documents are copied. The shorthand works by replacing a decimal point with the prefix of the resistance (e.g. K for kilo-ohms) or, for resistances in just ohms, R.
This notation is preferred, and will be used in this book. please note that the resistances are still said the same, so the value of a 1K2 resistor is pronounced "one point two kilo-ohms"."

Sorry, that's from some lecture notes, I don't have the original citation.

"In recent years a new style of metric notation for electric quantities has emerged which seeks to avoid the use of the decimal point. Since decimal points (".") are easily misread and/or "lost" due to poor print quality, quantities such as 4.7 k may be mistaken for 47 k. The new notation replaces the decimal point with the metric prefix character, so that "4.7 k" is printed instead as "4k7". Our last figure from the prior example, "0.267 m", would be expressed in the new notation as "0m267" "

(from http://openbookproject.net//electric...s/DC/DC_4.html )

Again, sorry I can't provide a textbook reference, but all my texts are American, and it seems this notation is less common there.

[ChangeMe]

I just finished trade at tafe either way worked for them. Although I did find it easy ordering at work to use the multiplier as the decimal.

For instance on most sites we ordered from 1k2 0204 would bring up 1k2 smd resistors with 0204 package and nothing else. Where as when I used 1.2k ohm nothing would come up in search.

Those other people don't deserve your input imo. Its like those people who pick on you for spelling.