Day 04: RGB Color Wheel

What You'll Learn

By the end of this mission, you'll have the skills to control multiple LEDs independently using a single DIP switch module. You'll understand how to:

• Wire three separate lighting circuits on a single breadboard
• Use power rails to efficiently distribute voltage across multiple components
• Replace #define constants with the modern const byte approach
• Create multiple conditional statements that work together harmoniously
• Organize your code to handle increasing complexity without chaos

When you power up your HERO board, you'll have complete control over your spacecraft's lighting systems — each switch commanding its own dedicated light circuit, ready to illuminate your path to survival.

Understanding Multiple Circuit Control

Think of your spacecraft like a house during a power outage. Yesterday, you managed to get one room's light working with a single switch. That was like having a flashlight — helpful, but limited. Today, you're becoming the electrical engineer who restores power to the entire house, with each room controlled by its own wall switch.

In your home, you don't need a separate power outlet for each light switch. Instead, all the switches share the same electrical supply (the power coming from your breaker box), but each switch controls its own unique light fixture. That's exactly what we're building today — a shared power system with independent control.

Your DIP switch module is like having three separate wall switches built into one convenient panel. Each tiny switch is completely independent — flip switch 1, and only the light connected to switch 1 responds. Switch 2 controls its own light, and switch 3 controls yet another. But they all share the same power source, just like the light switches in your house all connect to the same electrical panel.

The genius of this system lies in its scalability. Once you understand how to control three lights, you could control ten, twenty, or even a hundred — the principle remains exactly the same. Each switch gets its own input pin on your microcontroller, each light gets its own output pin, and your code simply checks each switch and responds accordingly.

This is foundational knowledge that extends far beyond lighting. The same principles apply to controlling motors, sensors, speakers, displays — any situation where you need independent control over multiple devices. You're not just learning to control LEDs; you're learning the fundamental pattern of modern automation and robotics.