Trimble calls its SPS986 GNSS Smart Antenna "The most rugged receiver Trimble has ever built." It can be used as a GNSS rover system or as a base station, and with Trimble's CenterPoint RTX service it can deliver GNSS positions to 2 centimeter accuracy worldwide via satellite/IP, without need for a base station fast.
An onboard sensor shows verticality on the 
As a pole-mounted rover, the SPS986 can be pole-mounted and used for various site measurement tasks including grade checking, ATV-mounted for progress monitoring, and truck-mounted for site supervision.
For initial site reconnaissance, it can be deployed with satellite-delivered GNSS corrections without a base station. For higher-accuracy site measurements such as grade checking, it can receive Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) corrections via the internal wideband radio, Wi-Fi or the Internet.
A grade checker can mount the SPS986 to an ATV and easily conduct site topos, check as-builts and verify road centerlines where it is not easy or safe to walk with a range pole. Extending its productivity, the same unit can then be mounted on the roof of a supervisor's truck roof to collect and manage progress data.
As a base station, the SPS986 has Wi-Fi communications for small site projects and wideband radio for longer-range operations. It will automatically establish a connection and transmit RTK corrections to another rover or machine control system.
The Trimble SPS986 GNSS Smart Antenna and SCS900 Site Controller Software are suited to:
- Measuring and verifying original ground levels and site features
- Monitoring real-time cut/fill information
- Checking finished grade and laid material thickness against design elevations and tolerances
- Computing progress and material stockpile volumes
- Monitoring, and conducting quality control for earthworks and paving operations
- Assessing as-built measurements and generating high quality reports for approvals and payment
- Recording tilt data when taking measurements
