Getting ready

You will need the following equipment:

  • 4 x DuPont female-to-male patch wires
  • Mini breadboard (170 tie points) or a larger one
  • RGB LED (common cathode)/3 standard LEDs (ideally red, green, and blue)
  • Breadboard wire (solid core)
  • 3 x 470 ohm resistors

Each of the preceding components shouldn't cost many dollars and can be reused for other projects afterwards. The breadboard is a particularly useful item that allows you to try out your own circuits without needing to solder them:

Diagrams of an RGB LED, a standard LED, and an RGB circuit

The following diagram shows the breadboard circuitry:

The wiring of an RGB LED/standard LEDs ...

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