
Driving an RGB LED — SIK Circuit 3
Make an RGB LED display a rainbow of colors! Learn about PWM (analogWrite), color mixing, and how red, green, and blue light combine to create any color.
Istruzioni
Parts & Introduction
Parts & Introduction
An RGB LED contains three tiny LEDs (red, green, blue) in one package. By mixing different brightness levels of each color, you can create any color in the rainbow. This experiment introduces analogWrite() for PWM output.
Parts Needed
- 1x Arduino Uno + USB cable
- 1x Breadboard
- 1x RGB LED (Common Cathode)
- 3x 330Ω Resistors
- 5x Jumper Wires
RGB LED Pin Order (flat edge facing you): Red, Ground (longest pin), Green, Blue.
Hardware Hookup
Hardware Hookup
Wiring Instructions
- Place the RGB LED in the breadboard. Identify pins from the flattened edge: Red, GND (longest), Green, Blue.
- Connect the GND pin (longest, second from left) to the GND rail.
- Connect the Red pin through a 330Ω resistor to Arduino Pin 9.
- Connect the Green pin through a 330Ω resistor to Arduino Pin 10.
- Connect the Blue pin through a 330Ω resistor to Arduino Pin 11.
Pins 9, 10, and 11 are all PWM-capable (marked with ~ on the board).
Arduino Code
Arduino Code
Open the Arduino IDE and upload the following sketch to your Arduino board.
/*
SparkFun Inventor's Kit
Example sketch 03 — RGB LED
Make an RGB LED display a rainbow of colors!
Hardware connections:
RGB LED pins (from flattened edge): RED, COMMON, GREEN, BLUE
RED -> 330 ohm resistor -> Pin 9
COMMON -> GND
GREEN -> 330 ohm resistor -> Pin 10
BLUE -> 330 ohm resistor -> Pin 11
This code is completely free for any use.
*/
const int RED_PIN = 9;
const int GREEN_PIN = 10;
const int BLUE_PIN = 11;
int DISPLAY_TIME = 10; // milliseconds
void setup()
{
pinMode(RED_PIN, OUTPUT);
pinMode(GREEN_PIN, OUTPUT);
pinMode(BLUE_PIN, OUTPUT);
}
void loop()
{
mainColors();
showSpectrum();
}
void mainColors()
{
// Off
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, LOW);
delay(1000);
// Red
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, LOW);
delay(1000);
// Green
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, LOW);
delay(1000);
// Blue
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, HIGH);
delay(1000);
// Yellow (red + green)
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, LOW);
delay(1000);
// Cyan (green + blue)
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, HIGH);
delay(1000);
// Purple (red + blue)
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, HIGH);
delay(1000);
// White (all on)
digitalWrite(RED_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(GREEN_PIN, HIGH);
digitalWrite(BLUE_PIN, HIGH);
delay(1000);
}
void showSpectrum()
{
int x;
for (x = 0; x < 768; x++)
{
showRGB(x);
delay(DISPLAY_TIME);
}
}
void showRGB(int color)
{
int redIntensity;
int greenIntensity;
int blueIntensity;
if (color <= 255)
{
redIntensity = 255 - color;
greenIntensity = color;
blueIntensity = 0;
}
else if (color <= 511)
{
redIntensity = 0;
greenIntensity = 255 - (color - 256);
blueIntensity = (color - 256);
}
else
{
redIntensity = (color - 512);
greenIntensity = 0;
blueIntensity = 255 - (color - 512);
}
analogWrite(RED_PIN, redIntensity);
analogWrite(GREEN_PIN, greenIntensity);
analogWrite(BLUE_PIN, blueIntensity);
}Test & Experiment
Test & Experiment
What You Should See
The LED cycles through 8 solid colors (off, red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, purple, white) for 1 second each, then smoothly fades through the entire color spectrum.
Troubleshooting
- Incorrect colors: With four pins close together, it's easy to misplace one. Double-check each connection.
- Red too bright: The red diode is often brighter. Try a higher-value resistor on the red pin, or reduce in code:
analogWrite(RED_PIN, redIntensity/3).
Experiments to Try
- Add a potentiometer to control which color is displayed.
- Create your own color sequences — try a "sunrise" effect (dark red → orange → yellow → white).
Materiali
- •SparkFun Inventor's Kit - V3.2 - 1 kitNOK 999.20
- •Arduino Uno R3 - 1 pieceSegnaposto
- •Breadboard - 1 pieceSegnaposto
- •RGB LED (Common Cathode) - 1 pieceSegnaposto
- •330 Ohm Resistor - 3 piecessNOK 24.00
- •Jumper Wires - 5 piecessNOK 39.20
Strumenti richiesti
- Computer with Arduino IDE
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