Making Two Colored LEDs Into One Bicolor LED

Bi-color LED's are nothing new. There is no point in reinventing the wheel, but revising or reiteration is key, I'd say! Anyways, I will answer some of the key fundamentals of this lesson:

• Of course: why is this project so special? Like, why should I care?
• How does it work?
• What are the practical ways to implement this?
• And why would you make this, rather than buy it?

All these will be answered. Edit: I assume you have a background in some theory of electricity and electronics, in general. Sorry for the inconvenience.

So, for this tutorial, you will need the following:

• Two colored LED's (about 3.3V)
• Two resistors (I'll explain that later) - about 680 ohms or 220 ohms
• *Optional* a IRF44N
• Breadboard

So, what is special about this project, you may ask? The purpose of this project - and why it's so special - is to demonstrate how we can take two regular LED's and create a bi-color LED. This is great because you may not be able to find a specific color you like, such as pink and blue. *NOTE - the bi-color LED ONLY allows one color at time.* Take this as an... experiment, if you will.

How does it work? This is the more of the "theoretical" part of the project. The video (right above this text) shows the calculation to the theory behind it. The theory behind this is a thing called, "parallel circuits." But, here is the catch: this circuit works with even reverse polarity! Isn't that cool?! Anyways, the thing about this is that it works almost like a switch of some sort. The most basic way I can describe this "flip-flop" process is that this switch-like device actually can, again, change polarity and have one LED on while the other is off!

I marked up a schematic (shown above - as a GIF) that crudely shows the inner workings of this process. Also, keep in mind: only, and I mean ONLY, one LED can illuminate at one time!!! Also, the resistors are REQUIRED. I'll explain in the next step.

So, to answer myself in Step 2, I will include the practical application of this, the schematic and the resistors reason. So, the first thing to know about the application is: this can be used in DC voltage electronics. Simply put, you can build something electronic related - whether it be an Arduino, a claw machine (which is what I use it for (power applications), or even a TF2 sentry - you can do it!

Of course, those were a few applications - and they were random - but, we should just dive into the topic. I mean, after all, I only have your attention for so long. Any who, the schematic. Yes, the schematic! Okay, so the first thing I did was get a 12V "adapter" or power supply. The second thing I did was use the IRFZ44N (the transistor). Wait! Hold up!

Why are you using a IRFZ44N? Easy. I am using this because of the fact that my stepper motors (future tutorial), on my claw machine (also, in another tutorial), shouldn't be reversed polarity. This means, if I connect the power backwards, my stepper motors would be fried! Anyhow, moving on...

The third step is to connect the LED's in parallel (as described in Step 2). Positive of Green LED is on the negative of the Red LED. Hopefully, that made sense. If not, then, comment down below. (Yes, I know they are both red). And, please, please, please, DON'T FORGET THE RESISTORS WHEN USING 3.3V OR MORE!!! The last step is to make sure power is connected.

Why not buy it instead? I have already bought a product (that is, the bi-colored LED's) that does that already. However, I wasn't quite satisfied with the level of voltage on one the "red" part (by the way, it was a red and green bi-color LED). The "red part" was actually rather orange (without a resistor on 3.3V - or around there).

Also, if I were to change my mind about the colors, I would have to pay for new bi-colored LED's with different colors. That depends on price, so let's look at that: Amazon calls for $6.38 (as the cheapest and the one I am most happy with) for the bi-colored LED's. That's for one-hundred of them.

However, here is the catch: I can go to eBay and find 150 pieces for a variety of colors of LED's (generic) for about 6 bucks! Sure, that's only 38 cents of a difference, but if you like to save money on some of your projects, like me, you will find this very helpful. Plus, you can choose your colors how you'd like!

Here is another advantage to this project and why you should build it: parallel circuits, like this one, has a constant voltage. Their voltage is the same. While, on the other hand, there is very little documentation on whether or not the bi-colored LED is (assuming it's two legged), in fact, having a parallel circuit. They are chemically engineered to illuminate on certain polarity. However, I, again, am not sure on whether or not the LED has a parallel circuit.

However, there is a slight disadvantage to this: if you are building a circuit board, and every millimeter counts, you shouldn't do this method. That's when I would buy that bi-color LED. But if space isn't a concern, then I would suggest this method.

Short answer: no. Long answer: for me it is a new concept. I have tried to make this before, but have failed on several attempts. However, it is working and actually has a pretty basic concept (judging on the fact that - I presume - you now have an understanding, you should be able to understand)! Check the conclusion/summary if you are confused.

To wrap everything up, here are some major takeaways from this lesson (and, yes it was a looooooong one):

• I answered all the main questions you may have.
• We used two different colored LED's to accomplish one bi-colored LED by using a parallel circuit, LED's, power supply, and even a transistor.
• I went how it works.
• We read a schematic and followed all the steps.
• And the reason why I made this rather than buy it.

Be don't hesitate to ask questions if you are confused on any of these steps. Or, heck, it can even be about the whole thing! But the point is, you can ask any question (as long as Jesus would approve) you want for me.

Here is the link: Handy Harris.