New Version of Trimble GCSFlex Offers GPS Machine Guidance via Wi-Fi

Trimble has announced that the Trimble GCSFlex Grade Control System for Excavators now offers highly accurate GPS machine guidance via Wi-Fi. By serving GPS corrections over a Wi-Fi connection from a local base station, Trimble has eliminated the need for a radio network on the construction site and made it easier than ever to deploy GPS for a broad range of excavation work, the company said.

Trimble introduced GCSFlex Grade Control System for Excavators in 2011 as an affordable, easy-to-use machine control system for owner operators and small to mid-sized contractors who want to increase their productivity and competitiveness. With several system configuration options available, contractors can select the sensor options that fit their job site needs at a price point that fits their budget.

The new configuration of GCSFlex is deployed with the innovative Trimble SPS985 GNSS Smart Antenna as a local base station for transmitting GPS corrections to the excavator. The operator needs only to position the Trimble SPS985 base station and power it on to automatically establish a Wi-Fi connection and begin broadcasting corrections to the machine. With simplified daily setup and operation, Trimble has made the highly powerful GCSFlex system easy to deploy and use, even for excavator operators with little or no experience with machine control.

GCSFlex with GPS Guidance also offers the benefit of using in-field design templates created directly from the cab on the Trimble CB450 Control Box. This allows the excavator operator to very accurately dig to a desired depth, slope or alignment without creating a digital design in the office.