That an arduino can power some simple led's is basic knowledge. But what about an SMD RGB LED. I cannot find some datasheet for the module I purchased from ebay
(I want to use this LED for Notification purposes like the LED on android devices, eg: Green: Bootup, Green Blinking: Everything OK, Blue: Sending a Signal, Yellow: Receiving a signal, RED: Alarm state … etc.)
Can this module be driven without the need of some extra Transistors? Do I need extra resistors or are theese little black things on the module already resistors? I am using an Arduino MEGA 2560 and want to connect the leds to the PWM Pins ~46-49, I think it was.
Best Answer
According to this website the led specs are:
Your board uses 51 Ohm for blue, 51 Ohm for green and 100 Ohm for red.
With 5v input
There is no info for the max allowed current of the led but for the AVR I/O with an absolute max of 40mA per I/O (and 200mA for port total) these ratings are too close (although the I/O voltage will not be 5v when you try to source 30mA).
I would suggest you add external resistors to the module to drop the current to 20mA
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab