The G120 can be set to sound buzzers based on various conditions such as:
- A trip starting, but no driver ID has been scanned - to remind drivers to tag on. This is configured on the Driver ID parameter tab.
- Digital Inputs being active/inactive. This is configured on the Digital Input parameter tab.
- Harsh driving events. Configured on the Harsh Driving parameter tab.
- Speeding events - This is configured on the Speeding tab. The buzzer will sound when going over a certain speed.
- When speeding inside a geo-fence - Geofence Downloads Example: Buzz when over 40km/h inside geofence
To have a buzzer sound, we need to do 2 things:
- Correctly wire the buzzer, and configure the right parameters to tell the device we have a buzzer connected
- Configure one of the options above to set under what conditions we want buzzing to occur.
What we will cover below is how to set up the output to behave correctly to make a buzzer beep (i.e. beep, beep, beep). This is achieved by having the device toggle an output on/off. If we connected an LED instead of a buzzer - the LED would flash. So this concept can be extended to anything we might want to behave in a pulsing on/off manner.
Buzzer Options
The G120 has an internal buzzer on the pcb. No additional setup is required for this buzzer to function.
The Digital Output on the device can be configured for buzzer/LED which will require wiring. Image below is an example of a buzzer.
Installation and Setup
The G120 has a 2 x Switched Ground outputs.
- Digital Output 1 - Pin 11 - Yellow
- Digital Output 2 - Pin 10 - Green
Switched Ground ouptus can be thought of as a low side switch with high impedance (open circuit, no connection) when OFF, and provide a path to ground (i.e. close the loop) when ON. They can be used with buzzers with the opposite settings to below.
So for these inputs, we wire:
- The low side of the buzzer to one of the device switched ground outputs.
- The high side of the buzzer to a power source that is within the buzzers input voltage range. This could simply be to the vehicle battery, or to an ignition source (but the buzzer is only provided with power when the ignition is on)
So in this configuration, the buzzer is constantly powered, but he switched ground output going ON/OFF has the effect of connecting and disconnecting the negative terminal to the ground.
When the negative terminal is connected to ground (SW GND output ON) there is a complete circuit, and the buzzer sounds.
To set up the parameter for switched ground output, add the Digital Output 1 or 2 tab (depending on which one you have used) and set the function to "Buzzer"
So now, if an event occurs that means the device will buzz (like over speed, or harsh braking) - the output line will pulse on, off, on, off, on, off... - to sound the buzzer.
The G120 also has a Switched Power Output (Pin 9 - Orange). These are not used as commonly but may have some useful applications and can be utilised when the switched ground is otherwise being used.
Instead of providing a ground when on, and disconnected when off - these outputs provide a voltage source when on. The G120 will provide 5V at the pin when the switched ground output is on. In this case, we wire the negative terminal of the buzzer to ground, and the positive side to the Switched Output wire.
Parameter setup is essentially the same, just we use the Switched Power Output tab to control the behaviour of this output.
