For this project LEDs were added since they'd be convenient. To keep costs low 5x5mm (aka 5050) Chinese RGB LEDs were selected. This means only one line item for both from and rear LEDs, only one reel to pay for and stupid cheap. While the rest of my parts are sourced from American distributors (counterfeit parts scare me on Alibaba) I had no fear in ordering LEDs that should they fail won't result in a catastrophic failure of the system.

These LEDs were never intended to be fancy, ultra bright, or flight controller controlled. They were cheap and added some value to the board. So they were designed in.

Now, the LEDs in the back have just the red series resistor populated to drive only the red LEDs in the packages. Kind of like tail lights. They look great.

The front LEDs kind of bug me a little bit. They aren't quite "white" despite my best efforts to match the current and forward voltage drop. I guess that's the reason the Chinese LEDs are stupid cheap and have no data sheet.

In the end, I'm going to tweak one resistor and leave it. They'll have a slight hue, but the name of the game lately is to keep it cheap. Worst case I ship the boards with all the resistors populated for the front white LEDs and then people remove the resistors for the colors they don't want. I know I'd prefer green up front and red in the back. Or maybe blue up front. Oh the luxury of choice...