LightListManager User Guide

Glossary of Terms in This Guide and the Program

A number of terms and words are used in this document and by the LightListManager program that may need definition. The following definitions are mine and may or may not match the official or common-use definitions. I try to use the proper terms, but these definitions are how I use the terms in this document and the program.

1. AIS AtoN - Real: The USCG broadcasts Aides to Navigation (AtoN) as Automated Identification System (AIS) targets. There are three classes of these AIS targets. "Real" targets broadcast from a transmitter on the physical mark.
2. AIS AtoN - Synthetic: This class of AIS AtoN target represents a physical mark, but the transmitter is located remotely from the mark (e.g., at a USCG radio station).
3. AIS AtoN - Virtual: This class of AIS AtoN target does not represent a physical mark. It could be used to document a change in a navigation channel or a hazard until a physical mark can be put in place.
4. Characteristic: A lighted navaid will exhibit a light characteristic, even if the light is continuously on. The characteristic is used to differentiate a lighted navaid from other lighted navaids in the area, as well lights on other vessels and on shore. The program provides an abstract from the USCG Light List that provides these definitions. Unlighted navaids do not have a characteristic
5. Navaids, Lights, Marks, Dayboards: Even the USCG seems to use the same terms to cover both lighted and unlighted navaids. The term "light" can mean either. I try to use the term "lighted" for illuminated navaids, and "day" or "unlighted" for unlit navaids. A "mark" can also mean either lighted or unlighted. A "Dayboard" is the visual structure of a navaid that may also support a light. There are probably more than a few inconsistencies in these terms throughout this document.
6. Structure: The structure of a navaid describes the visual appearance of the navaid. This description can be a simple as the color of an unlighted mark, to a detailed description of a lighthouse. Many navaid dayboards have specific letter codes that are used on nautical charts to define their purpose and appearance. The program provides definitions of these letter codes on the Help menu.
7. Volume/District: The USCG has divided the List of Lights into volumes. Each USCG district is responsible for one or two volumes, or a portion of a volume as a section of the larger list. These sections are identified by a combination of the volume number and the number of the district that is responsible for that section. In this document the term List of Lights refers to all of the volumes. The term Light List can refer to a single section or volume of the List of Lights. The USCG uses a 5 character designation for each section in the form VnDxx; where n is the volume number and xx is the district number. These section identifiers are listed below.
   • V1D01: Volume 1, District 1 covers the NE coast
   • V2D05: Volume 2, District 5 covers the Mid-Atlantic coast
   • V3D07: Volume 3, District 7 covers the SE coast including the west coast of Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
   • V4D08: Volume 4, District 8 covers the Gulf of Mexico coast
   • V5D08: Volume 5, District 8 covers the inland rivers, mostly east of the continental divide
   • V6D11: Volume 6, District 11 covers the SW coast of the US, mostly California
   • V6D13: Volume 6, District 13 covers the Pacific NW
   • V6D14: Volume 6, District 14 covers Hawaii and U.S. Pacific territories
   • V6D17: Volume 6, District 17 covers Alaska
   • V7D09: Volume 7, District 9 covers the Great Lakes
   Each Navaid in the List of Lights is assigned a Light List Number (LLNR). This number is unique for whatever volume contains the Navaid. The combination of the Volume number and LLNR uniquely identifies each Navaid in List of Lights.