Mastering Geotab
★ Geotab Products · IOX Add-On
The IOX-BUZZ boosts the in-cab beep from a Geotab GO device so drivers in loud trucks and equipment actually hear their alerts. Here is how it works, who needs it, and how it should be mounted.
Every Geotab GO device has a small internal buzzer that sounds when a driver trips an in-vehicle alert, such as idling too long or exceeding a speed threshold. In a quiet car that beep is enough. In a diesel truck, a dump body or a vehicle with the windows down at highway speed, it often goes unheard, and an alert the driver never hears does nothing to change behavior.
The IOX-BUZZ is a compact external buzzer that plugs into the GO device's IOX expansion port. When the GO device beeps, the IOX-BUZZ sounds at the same time, at a much higher volume and from a location the installer chooses. It adds no new alert logic. It makes the existing feedback loud enough to work.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sound output | 75 dBA at 30 cm |
| Input voltage | 12 V / 24 V nominal |
| Current draw | 40 mA typical, 100 mA maximum operating; 0.4 mA sleep |
| Interface | CAN at 500 kbps for daisy chaining |
| Connectors | Male mini-USB Type-B in, female mini-USB Type-B out |
| Overall length | 2205 mm |
| Widest point | 60 mm W x 16 mm H |
| Weight | 96 g |
| Housing | PC+ABS clamshell |
| Operating temperature | -40 °C to +85 °C |
| Compatibility | GO7 and newer devices; Base, Pro, ProPlus and Regulatory plans |
Placement is the whole job with this module. Geotab's guidance stresses that where the buzzer sits decides whether the driver hears it, especially at speed with windows open, and an open spot under the dash usually works well. Burying it behind a kick panel defeats the purpose. It mounts with screws or a zip tie through its two holes; tape is only an option when both surfaces are properly prepped. The GO device is unplugged before the 90 degree connector goes into the expansion port, and the zip tie on that connector should not be overtightened. If the buzzer is not the last module in a chain, its termination shunt comes out, and the last IOX keeps its shunt secured. We power up, confirm the GO device enters debug mode, and verify communication through Geotab's install site.
The IOX-BUZZ fits fleets that already use, or plan to use, the GO device's audible alerts and run vehicles too loud for the internal beeper. It is low cost to power and adds little to the chain's current budget. It is not the right pick when drivers hear the beep but do not know what it means. For that, the IOX-GOTALK speaks the reason for each alert. Fleets that do not turn on in-cab feedback at all have no use for an external buzzer.
Geotab's documentation describes it as sounding whenever the GO device does. The work is in configuring which driver feedback alerts are turned on, which we can help set up during installation.
Geotab rates it at 75 dBA measured at 30 cm. The bigger practical difference is usually location, since the buzzer can be mounted where the driver can hear it instead of next to the diagnostic port.
Yes. It is a pass-through IOX module, so it can sit in a chain with other add-ons as long as the total current stays within the GO device's limit. We can supply and install it with the rest of the system.
API Signal can bring the IOX-BUZZ to your yard, mount it where your drivers will actually hear it, and test it before the truck goes back out. To set that up, call 803-513-1009 or send the details through Get a Quote.
Sources: Geotab IOX-BUZZ support document; Geotab Marketplace IOX-BUZZ listing; Geotab guide to IOX add-ons. GEOTAB is a registered trademark of Geotab Inc. API Signal is an independent installer and is not Geotab.
Tell us how many vehicles and what they are. We'll quote the hardware and the install together.