Android Guide
With your mobile device, you can combine precise positioning using satellite navigation with the data from this site to guide yourself safely across the reservoir.
I highly recommend performing these steps ahead of time, and practice using the app before boating on the water.
On the Android platform the best app I've found is Locus Maps. Either version below will work for this project.
Locus Maps 4 Outdoor Navigation
Free version has limited features & ads
In-App subscription fee pricing
Currently supported version - new features will be added
Alternative Link (registration required)
Video Guide (coming soon)
Video of Advanced Features (coming soon)
Locus Maps 3 (Classic)
Free version has limited features & ads
$10.99 one time purchase for all features & no ads
Deprecated version - no new features will be added
Alternative Link (registration required)
Provided Settings File (v3 classic only - Updated June 21, 2019)
Step-by-Step
Use the links above to install your selected version of Locus Maps.
Use the link above to download the appropriate settings file.
Make sure the device is connected to WiFi for data in order to download the offline map tile data.
From the downloads section on the main page, save the two KML files (routes & campsites) to the "Locus" directory on the Android device.
From the downloads section on the main page, under Offline Imagery, save the latest custom depth map files and at least one offline satellite imagery file to the "Locus/Maps" directory on the Android device. Start with the files under the "On the Reservoir" section. The low water version shows the most rock shoals and is a smaller file size of the two. You can download all the mbtiles files you wish from the section on the main page, as long as your mobile device has the space.
Open the LocusMaps app on the Android device.
In the upper left corner of the app, click on the "main menu" button (looks like three stacked lines).
Select "More Functions", and then "Import", and then select the provided settings file you downloaded earlier.
You will be prompted to restart the app, choose yes.
Once restarted, In the upper right corner of the app, click on the map button.
Choose the maps option, then pick the "Offline" tab near the top of the page.
The maps should already appear in the list if they are in the correct directory. (If not, in the upper right corner click the "menu" button and select "Add maps")
Select the directory where the mbtiles files were downloaded, (If the files are simply in the downloads directory, it may be beneficial to create a directory just for these files. If an Android file manager is needed to create the directory and move the files from the Downloads directory. Try this or this)
All the mbtiles files should show up under the "Offline" tab now, where they can be selected for view. Pick one of the files, and the app returns to the main screen with the map chosen now in view.
In the upper right corner of the main screen, choose the "Data" button. It looks like two text bubbles with a squiggly line under them.
Select the "points" tab near the top left, then click the "menu" button at the upper right and select "import".
Select the "StillwaterCampsites.kml" file and a screen will pop up. Click under "Folder" and select "Add new folder". Name the folder "Campsites" and select "import" at the bottom of the screen.
The app returns to the "points" menu with a new entry called "Campsites". To the right it should say "0/46". This means that 0 of the 46 campsites are currently loaded and viewed on the map.
Click where it says "Campsites", and in the resultant screen, click the "eyeball" menu at lower left and select "Show All".
Hit the "Back Arrow" Android button to return to the "Data" list, and select the "Tracks" tab near the top, middle of the screen.
Repeat the previous four steps to load the Routes layer. Be sure to create a new folder and name them something pertinent each time.
Hint: If you want to separate the safe zones, you can load the Routes file two times, each time naming it "Routes" and "Safe Zones" and assigning the appropriate color icon to each folder, then use the "filter" feature to delete out the items not needed for that category. See the video for further guidance.
Return to the main map screen and hit the "satellite" menu at the top (third from right). Select "Turn on getting locations" at the bottom". GPS is now enabled.
Return to the main map screen. There is a menu at the lower left with an arrow with curved arrows around it. Use this menu to select the desired view mode.
Zoom to around the 200ft level for boat navigation. Higher or lower zoom levels based on preference, speed, and required level of detail.
Back on the map screen, a specific track can be selected to navigate along. Zoom into the Stillwater public boat launch and hit the green line extending away from the dock. The track is called "Main Flow". When clicked, a popup menu appears showing information about the track. Click the arrow on the right edge of the menu, then select "Navigation/Guidance", then select "Guidance". The app will return to the main map screen with the track highlighted and a purple course line showing distance to the next way-point in the track. To turn navigation off, click the button directly under the "Main Menu" button in the upper left. It looks like two arrows pointing to a circle. In the resultant menu, click "Guide Off".
Click in an area where multiple features are close together, and a popup menu will appear where the intended feature can be selected. This is where the icons shown in the image above become important for ease of interpretation. Groups can also be added to further sort the lists of data. All the folders seen above in the image, I placed in a group called "Stillwater" to separate them from other data I have for other locations I visit.
NOTE: The more data layers you have enabled, the longer the app will take to load upon first start-up. If you have data from other locations, consider turning their visibility off to shorten the app's start-up time.
For further information, see the Locus Maps Website, User Guide Page, or Forum.
Another excellent GPS app on Android is "GPS Status & Toolbox". It allows the user to view what satellites are tracking along with other pertinent information. It also allows the user to quickly download GPS almanac & ephemeris data via the A-GPS tool. Perform this function via WiFi or Cell data before leaving on a boat and it will make for faster satellite acquisition times over the next several days. Once installed on a device, the app can be accessed directly from Android, or from within LocusMaps by going to "Main Menu -> Co-Apps".
ACCESSORIES: If your Android device doesn't have GPS capability, something like the Dual XGPS160 could be utilized as well (it does require Bluetooth capability on the Android device). I have tested the Dual with my Android devices, and it worked well with Locus Maps. You need to make some settings changes within the app to utilize the Bluetooth position data.
Consider following this guide to enable the "Force full GNSS measurements" option on your Android mobile device, while navigating on the reservoir.
Mapsforge Download Server for *.map files of OpenStreetMap Data