RGB LED Module SMD 3 Colour

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

Q: What does "Common Cathode" mean? A: Cathode is the negative side of an LED. Common Cathode means the internal Red, Green, and Blue LEDs all share one single negative ground pin (labeled -). You turn the colors on by applying positive voltage to the individual R, G, and B pins.

Q: Do I need to use resistors with this module? A: Yes! This specific breakout board does not feature onboard current-limiting resistors. If you hook it directly to 5V, it will burn out. You should place a 220 Ohm or 330 Ohm resistor on the wire leading to the R, G, and B pins.

Q: Can I use one resistor on the Ground pin instead of three on the RGB pins? A: It is highly discouraged. Because the Red, Green, and Blue diodes all have different forward voltage drops (Red requires less voltage than Blue), using a single shared resistor on the ground line will cause the colors to draw unequal current, resulting in weird color mixing and potentially burning out the Red channel. Always use three separate resistors.

Q: How do I make the color purple? A: To make purple, you need to turn on both the Red and Blue LEDs while leaving the Green LED off. Using Arduino PWM (0-255 scale), you might use analogWrite(redPin, 150) and analogWrite(bluePin, 255).

Q: Can I make white light with this? A: Yes. By turning all three channels (Red, Green, and Blue) on to their maximum brightness simultaneously, the light will blend into a bright, slightly cool-tinted white.

Q: What does the "5050" mean? A: 5050 refers to the physical footprint of the SMD LED package. It means the plastic square housing the LED crystals measures exactly 5.0mm by 5.0mm.

Q: What do the pins CNT1 and 3_Clor on the board mean? A: Those are just generic manufacturer silkscreen labels. "3_Clor" is a typo for 3-Color, and CNT1 likely refers to Connector 1. The only labels you need to worry about are the -, R, G, and B markings.

Q: Can I plug this directly into a breadboard? A: Yes, the four male pins are spaced at the industry-standard 2.54mm (0.1 inch) pitch, making them perfectly compatible with standard breadboards and dupont jumper wires.

Q: Can I run this off a 3.3V microcontroller like a Raspberry Pi or ESP32? A: Yes, 3.3V logic is perfectly fine. You will still need small current-limiting resistors (e.g., 100 Ohm to 220 Ohm) to protect the microcontroller's GPIO pins from drawing more than their rated current limit.