Locus Maps is my favourite app for navigating & tracking on my Android phone.
Website: http://www.locusmap.eu/
Help: https://help.locusmap.eu/
Very customisable tracker with off and on-line maps but designed primarily for off-line use (no mobile signal is needed). Takes vector maps (Mapforge - which take up very little space) as well as the more usual raster maps. The vector maps are better as they stay sharp at all levels of zoom. Covers most of the world based on Open Street Maps (OSM). Good downloading system for the raster maps. Active forum.
This guide only scratches the surface to highlight some of the features I find useful. View illustrated version as a document.
For a detailed guide please refer to the excellent Knowledge Base
Full analysis: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Locus
Review: http://www.cumbriasoaringclub.co.uk/kb/osm.php#gettingstarted
Disadvantages:
Install on SD card (UK map is ~ 1MB).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=menion.android.locus
This document refers to Locus Map Professional version 3.38.7
Knowledge base contains: Basic guide, FAQs, User manual
Help forum: http://help.locusmap.eu/
Questions? Contact Asamm Software, Email: locus.map@asamm.com
Krhanická 719/25, Praha 4, Praha, 142 00, Czech Republic
Download vector maps free from http://www.openandromaps.org.
http://www.openandromaps.org/en/downloads/europe is updated monthly.
[Also available here https://www.locusvectormaps.com/ and http://download.mapsforge.org/maps/europe/]
Unzip the .map file and copy it into the Locus\mapsVector folder on your phone.
Can also purchase LoMaps for a country, which includes address search. 3 free if buy Locus.
To select an installed offline map in the Locus App, double tap the screen to reveal the menu and select the Settings (top left). Tap on Maps and then OFFLINE and choose the map from the list.
You can also download additional themes to change the appearance of the maps. A good theme for cycling (looks very similar to OS mapping with contour lines) is Voluntary UK which can be downloaded free at http://forum.locusmap.eu/index.php?topic=2915.0 It is also available from the Locus store. Unzip and copy the entire _themes folder to Locus\mapsVector on your phone.
To select an installed theme in the Locus App, tap the Map Content button (bottom left) then tap ‘Map themes’ and pick a theme. When selecting the Voluntary UK theme there are several options you can configure for cycling.
After installing the App, there are many options in Settings. Please see my spreadsheet showing the settings I use.
Recording – use the REC button to show a basic cycle computer with button to start, pause or stop recording. Start & stop promptly to get an accurate average speed. Save track once stopped at the end of a ride into a suitable folder in Locus.
Data…TRACKS…lists track folders. Open a folder to see a list of tracks. You can pick which ones are visible. Tap on a track to view ride stats.
View the list of tracks and then select the tools button. Select one (or more?) tracks by ticking the boxes. Select the export button . The export type can be changed by tapping the icon at the top - it remembers what you last used. I usually choose .GPX.
You can export directly to some websites , e.g. Ride with GPS. Tap the icon at the top and change it to Ride With GPS.
Tap the EXPORT button and complete the action using Gmail. This will compose an email to upload@rwgps.com with the .gpx file attached and you just have to send the email.
Sign into your account at RideWithGPS.com using the same email address that sent the email. Go to the Rides menu to view the track, including stats for Departed date/time; Distance; Elevation:(climb & descent); Max Grade; Total Duration; Moving Time; Stopped Time; Max Speed; Avg. Speed. View the track to get options for downloading as KML etc.
These are places on the map. Best to import into different folders as you can assign a symbol at folder level as well as showing or hiding folder contents from the map display.
Select it from the POINTS lists in Data Manager to show it on the map. Press on the map portion to go full screen with the point centred on the map.
Ensure that Settings…Maps...Advanced features...Map shading is enabled.
You can add shading to the vector map by downloading altitude data for the area (about 60 x 60 miles) you are in on the map.
When shading is enabled and the map is on an area without data, an icon appears top right allowing you to download the data for that area.
Elevation data is stored in .htm files at /Locus/data/srtm