Little Dipper

To measure the dip and strike of a geological outcrop, place the phone on the rock face with the top of the phone pointing toward the direction of greatest dip downwards.

Press the button labeled 'record the dip', and the readings will appear in the white box.

Tap the yellow button 'tap here to send' and an email will be set to your preset email account.

The email will include the time and location, along with the reading of dip, the alignment of the dip, and the angle of strike (which is perpendicular to the dip angle). By convention called the Right Hand Rule, strike is defined as 90 degrees clockwise from the downslope dip direction.

By clicking the blue link in the received email, a Google Maps screen will appear. Your location should be highlighted with a green icon. A confusing red icon may also show at the nearest point for which Google has an address.

The compass bearings of dip alignment and strike are in relation to True North.

The dip angle should always show up as a negative value, if the top front of the phone is aligned toward the lowest point and steepest slope of the outcrop which you are measuring. Imagine the direction water would flow down the surface, when you are setting the dip alignment.

Before the Dip/Strike email feature will function, you must preset your recipient email. To do so, follow the 'setup' button from the bottom of the Dip/Strike page to a screen with an input box to enter your email.

Click the middle button to save it, after you are sure you entered it correctly. You can then double-check that it is stored properly by clicking the lower button on the input page, above the tartan image.

Setting your email need only be done once, not every time you use the app. The email can be changed later, if desired.

Before the GPS location will function, the Location setting of the phone must be set to Satellite. It may take several minutes till the satellite connection is established properly and you must wait.

The updated app has a new feature reached by clicking the compass icon at the upper left. This shows a True North compass, and the pitch and yaw in real-time. A button on the page shows current elevation. The Flashlight button opens a bright white page for finding keys, etc. This works best if the phone brightness is set to maximum.

The Satellite feature works only outdoors, and prefers a clear view of the sky.

You can check whether the phone has a satisfactory GPS signal by starting Google Maps first, and checking if your current location appears on the Maps screen as a blue triangle.

The Use Satellite Location setting should be turned off after you are finished using the app to conserve battery power.