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RGB LED Newb Question
markronz:
Thanks for the help everyone. I talked to Susan from Paradise about it and confirmed that all four wires need to have a resistor on them. They are going to sell me some resistors that should be sufficient for the joysticks. So I think I'm all set on this!
Nephasth:
--- Quote from: markronz on October 15, 2013, 09:34:56 am ---I talked to Susan from Paradise about it and confirmed that all four wires need to have a resistor on them.
--- End quote ---
This doesn't make sense. You only need a resistor on each of the 3 grounds of an RGB.
markronz:
Got me man. They just said a resistor goes on "all wires". Maybe I misinterpreted that. Would it harm anything if the 5v line also had a resistor on it? Or is it just the fact that it shouldn't be needed?
Nephasth:
--- Quote from: markronz on October 15, 2013, 11:20:05 am ---Would it harm anything if the 5v line also had a resistor on it? Or is it just the fact that it shouldn't be needed?
--- End quote ---
Harm anything? No. But it may add enough resistance to the circuit (depending on resistor value) that it would prevent the LED from lighting.
wxforecaster:
Folks, Google is your friend. The resistor goes between the supply voltage (+5V) and the cathode. There are 3 cathodes on an RGB LED, one for each color. Please read my post again. A resistor on the exiting anode lead connecting back to ground is not what you want. It's not going to harm anything, but your LEDs won't operate correctly.