Single resistor for a common anode or common cathode RGB LED? | Basic Electronics

Maybe it hasn’t happened to everyone but it has happened to many of us. The first time we have an array of components or an RGB LED that share an anode or cathode and we think, “Hey, I’m only going to need one resistor on the cathode side instead of putting a resistor on each leg of the other side, right?” Wrong! We briefly show why the forward voltage of LEDs or other components makes this a bad idea. We also have a related written tutorial on CircuitBread that can clarify any questions that may remain after watching the video – https://www.circuitbread.com/tutorials/why-cant-i-share-a-resistor-on-the-common-anode-or-cathode-of-my-rgb-led

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Table of Contents:
0:00 Introduction
0:18 Example of an RGB LED sharing a single resistor
0:55 Single LED circuit and how it operates
1:25 Two LED circuit with one resistor and how it operates
2:23 Why you’ll see some current flowing even with different forward voltages

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