The light and its characteristic
Each lighthouse has its « signature »: a rhythm of light and dark, its characteristic. The international letters (Shom, book 1D): F fixed; Oc occulting (more light than dark); Iso isophase (as much light as dark); Fl flashing (less light than dark); Fl(3) flashes in groups of three; LFl a long flash, of at least 2 s; Q quick flashing, 50 to 79 flashes a minute; VQ very quick.
On a chart a light is written, for example, Fl(2) 10s 70m 34M: two flashes every 10 seconds, the light at 70 m elevation, a nominal range of 34 nautical miles. The range shown on charts is the nominal range, in nautical miles. In this game, the flashes' lengths are ours, chosen within the definitions.
Cordouan, the eldest
The Cordouan lighthouse, at sea 7 km from the Pointe de Grave, came into service in 1611: it's the oldest working French lighthouse. Augustin Fresnel's stepped lens was tried there in 1823. In 1862 it became the first lighthouse listed as a historic monument, and on 24 July 2021 it joined UNESCO's World Heritage list.
The radio programmes
- ILLW (International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend): normally the 3rd full weekend in August, 48 hours in UTC (21 and 22 August 2027). Not a contest: no prizes, no certificates. The station is at or next to the light, visible to the public, with the manager's permission. References like FR0018 (Penmarc'h, Eckmühl). Its year of birth is disputed: 1993 on one page of its site, 1998 on another; it was born at Ayr, in Scotland.
- ARLHS: an association founded in 2000 by Jim Weidner, with its world list (World List of Lights). You set up within 1,000 m of the light; if getting closer would be illegal, ill-advised, impossible or impractical, the « Visual Sight Rule » allows a station in sight of the tower by day, or the light by night. You quote the full reference, like ARLHS FRA-014.
- WLOTA: a French award created on 1 July 1997 (WLH-Award until 2005), only for island lighthouses with a range of at least 10 miles, one reference per island. No need to be near the lighthouse: being on the same island is enough. References L 0001. Satellite contacts don't count there.
- DPLF (French Coastal Lighthouses award): 461 lighthouses in November 2024, references PB 001 (Bénodet's Grand Phare) or PB 020 (La Banche, which is also WLOTA 0110). At most 150 m from the lighthouse or its enclosure, in sight if possible, with a photo of the station in front of the lighthouse: asked for, and even required according to the DPLF's home page. That home page also says ARLHS references aren't accepted.
Permission and respect
The programmes say it: before setting up inside a lighthouse's enclosure, get its manager's permission. Outside the enclosure, the ILLW thinks that in most cases no permission is needed; the coast still has its own rules, to be checked on the spot. Nothing is fixed to the lighthouse: an antenna on its own stand, a table, and a sign inviting the curious to listen.
Licence Activating a lighthouse means transmitting: you need an amateur licence. Without one you can come and listen, and the ILLW is made precisely to show radio to the public.
In the game The lighthouse drawn is generic, the maps of the cape and the island are made up. The references quoted are real, only a few examples. No logo: we draw our own pictograms.