Geekcreit Active Buzzer Module Pinout

Created on: 14 November 2017

Pinout for the Geekcreit active buzzer module from the Geekcreit 37 in 1 sensor module board set kit for Arduino.

Below is an image showing the pinout of the active buzzer module. The middle pin is not connected. The left pin connects to the negative (-) pin of the buzzer and the right pin connects to the positive (+) pin of the buzzer.

Typically the negative pin will be connected to an Arduino GND pin. The middle N.C. pin is left unconnected. To make the buzzer sound, power it with +5V on the positive (+) pin and connect the negative pin (-) to GND or the power supply.

The buzzer module is active because it has internal electronics to generate a sound or tone. Only the volume of the buzzer can be changed by changing the supplied voltage. The pitch of the tone is generated by the internal electronics, so can't be changed.

Identifying the Active Buzzer

A sticker is left on the front of the buzzer in the kit, as shown below, presumably so that it can be easily distinguished from the passive buzzer. The sticker can be removed so that it does not block any of the sound from the buzzer.

Buzzer Voltage and Current

The buzzer was found to draw around 25mA from a 5V power supply.

Because the buzzer draws more current than the maximum of 20mA specified per Arduino pin, it is not a good idea to power it directly from an Arduino pin. It is better to use a transistor to power the buzzer. Alternatively the current drawn from the pin can be reduced by driving the buzzer using PWM.

How to Test the Active Buzzer Module

The tutorial on the Geekcreit active buzzer module shows basic usage and testing of the module with Arduino.