FAQ

Rocklogger FAQs

Who are you?
What is the difference between the free and paid versions of Rocklogger?
What does a red dip direction/strike mean?
How do I get the log files onto my computer or back to my phone?
What file format are the log files in?
How do I import the log files and work with them?
Won’t the vibration from pressing save upset the measurement?
How is true north calculated?

Who are you?

My name is Bramley Turner-Jones. I am a Software Developer in Melbourne, Australia. I wrote Rocklogger at the suggestion of my father, a geologist.

What is the difference between the free and paid versions of Rocklogger?

Android

The free version is so you can evaluate how well Rocklogger works on your Android device, specifically if the orientation and compass sensors on your device are accurate enough to use. It will only let you save a maximum of three records in three minutes, and magnetic sensor readings are only recorded in magnetic field mode (the readings are normally also recorded in the other sensor modes).

The paid version has no restrictions. Additionally, the paid version enables the stereonet plotter, which lets you plot logs as poles or planes on a stereonet, and lets you draw additional poles or planes by touching or using the sliders, to aid interpretation. It also allows the plotting of records on custom basemaps, from various sources including web, MapBox, RMaps and zip files.
Finally, it allows the export of KML files, for use in Google Earth.

What does a red dip direction/strike mean?

It means the compass readings may be inaccurate. If it is constantly red, you may need to re-calibrate the compass. See A note on accuracy for more information.

How do I get the log files onto my computer, or back to my phone?

Android

You can either email the logs to yourself from within Rocklogger, by tapping on a log file in the home screen, and hitting “Email log”, or you can connect your phone to your computer via usb. The files are stored on the phone’s internal SD card, in the /Rocklogger directory. The location and filename of the current log file is shown at the bottom of the logging screen. You can copy new files here and they will be visible in Rocklogger.

iPhone

Long press the log file from the main screen, or tap the 3 dots menu from the View tab, then select Send Log. Then tap email to send the log file along with any photos via email, or tap export file to to send the log file to iCloud or other apps.
To import files, tap the 3 dots menu from the main screen, then Import. This will allow you to import log files from iCloud or “on my iPhone” storage. Exporting photos associated with log files to/from iCloud is not currently supported. Filenames must end with .dips.csv.

What file format are the log files in?

The logs are comma separated values (CSV) files.

The labels for each column are given at the top of the file.

How do I import the log files and work with them?

Once you have a log file on your computer, you can open it in a spreadsheet program (eg Excel). You may have to specify that the values are comma delimited.

You can also import the data to mapping programs, eg MapInfo. Additionally, the paid version allows the export of KML files for use in Google Earth.

Won’t the vibration from pressing save upset the measurement?

No. The phone vibrates only after the dip measurements are saved.

How is true north calculated?

You can set Rocklogger to record either true or magnetic north in settings. True north is calculated using your current location, altitude, and date. The model used is the World Magnetic Model (WMM-2015) produced by the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. More details about the model can be found at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/WMM/DoDWMM.shtml.