The new product offering provides four levels of GPS operation -- Location GPS, Basic, Max and Extreme -- to cover a range of user price and performance requirements. The Extreme level receivers (Trimble SPS850 and SPS880 receivers) can track next-generation GPS L2C and L5 signals plus GLONASS.

The combination improves the contractor's ability to work in tough GPS environments at longer ranges with faster initialization times, and provides for increased productivity and reduced downtime on the construction job site.

The addition of the new Modular GPS Receiver family gives contractors the flexibility to choose equipment to meet their price, performance and equipment configuration needs. Trimble Smart GPS Antennas offer a highly portable, fast, compact setup solution; Trimble Modular GPS receivers provide optimized components and configuration flexibility for a wide range of installations and applications.

"Trimble is committed to the development of easy-to-use productivity enhancing positioning solutions for the contractor," said Jim Veneziano, general manager for Trimble's Construction Division. "The new Modular GPS Receivers and Smart GPS Antennas further simplify positioning by taking advantage of the next generation GPS L2C and L5 signals along with GLONASS signals to ensure more reliable and robust positioning in a broad range of environments. This demonstrates our continued commitment to support Global Navigation Satellite Systems."

A new version of the Trimble SCS900 Site Controller Software is being released at the same time to support the new receivers and the recent developments in GPS positioning technology.

Trimble SPS550, SPS550H, SPS750 and SPS850 Modular GPS Receivers

The Trimble SPS550 and SPS550H Modular Receivers are new Location GPS receivers, designed for both land and marine construction positioning applications, provide decimeter accuracy. The Trimble SPS550H GPS Receiver is an add-on heading receiver for use in marine applications requiring both position and heading of the vessel, such as dredging, bridge deck placement or pipe laying.

The Trimble SPS750 and SPS850 Modular GPS Receivers are ideal for mobile, semi-permanent and permanent base station setups on construction sites as well as for vehicle, vessel or pole-mounted rover applications.

By integrating the radio and GPS receiver in a single housing, the valuable components of a contractor's GPS fleet can be protected from the elements and theft by securing them inside a site trailer, vehicle or carrying case, while only the antennas are left outside. Antennas can be mounted high and away from obstructions to allow a clearer, less noisy GPS signal, as well as maximizing radio coverage.

The Trimble SPS750 and SPS850 Modular GPS Receivers offer a range of GPS positioning techniques delivering position accuracies from centimeters to sub meter. The new receivers further simplify GPS technology for use in construction by adding Autobase, a feature that lets the user set up the receiver as a base station with a single button push.

Trimble SPS780 and SPS880 Smart GPS Antennas

The Trimble SPS780 and SPS880 Smart GPS Antennas are ideal for fast setup and take down. By integrating the GPS receiver, radio, and GPS antenna in one housing, setup time is drastically reduced, making this GPS positioning product ideal for all sites, including small- to medium-size construction sites as a base station as well as for all site rover applications where mobility is critical.

The new products in the Trimble SPS family of GPS modular receivers and smart antennas are expected to be available at the end of February 2006 through the Trimble worldwide distributor network.

The Construction business of Trimble is focused on developing technology and solutions for earthmoving, site preparation, and general, interior and underground construction contractors. Trimble's construction solutions help to get the job done faster, with less machine time and personnel. For each phase of the construction cycle -- design, grading, site checking, building and asset tracking -- Trimble has a broad portfolio of integrated construction positioning systems designed to improve productivity.

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