Harbour semaphores
The same pattern of lights, a different sentence
An exhibition model, not a historical comparison. Alfa and Beta are two invented sets of regulations, with no port and no date. They do not describe any real regulation and are not a navigation aid.
The signal and the two documents that read it
Document 1 · version A
Alfa regulations
- Document date
- none · model
- Port
- none · model
Reads the signal as
Sample no. 1
Model A row: lamps 1+3 → Sample no. 1
- lamps 1+3Sample no. 1
- lamps 1+2Sample no. 2
- lamps 2+3Sample no. 3
Signal · diagram of three lamps
Lamps 1+3 · code 101
- Lamp 1 · toplit
- Lamp 2 · middleoff
- Lamp 3 · bottomlit
An illustrative diagram of our own making. It is not a specific device, a port or a photograph. The title “semaphore” is a working one.
Document 2 · version B
Beta regulations
- Document date
- none · model
- Port
- none · model
Reads the signal as
Sample no. 3
Model B row: lamps 1+3 → Sample no. 3
- lamps 1+3Sample no. 3
- lamps 1+2Sample no. 1
- lamps 2+3Sample no. 2
Meaning collision
The same pattern, two different sentences
Lamp state: lamps 1+3. Alfa reads: Sample no. 1. Beta reads: Sample no. 3. The lamps are the same; the document differs.
Named patterns
Four things without which the signal says nothing
Before anyone points to a row in a document, four things have to be established. In this model three of them read “none” or “diagram”, and that is how it should stay: missing data is neither a zero nor a verdict.
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1. Port and waters
In the model: not assigned
The same pattern of lamps in another port may be governed by different regulations. We assign no real port to Alfa or Beta.
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2. The device
In the model: illustrative drawing
Three lamps in a vertical line on a panel. The type of support (mast, gantry, column) and the colours are not established. A photograph or drawing shows where the light is, but does not prove what it means.
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3. The document and its date
In the model: Alfa (A) and Beta (B), undated
The meaning is recorded by a document, and that document was in force for a certain period. Regulations from different ports or years must not be swapped for one another. In a real comparison the date and scope of validity would be the first field to check, which is why in the panels they stand on a par with the reading.
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4. The meaning entry
In the model: 3 entries per document
Only after points 1–3 can a row in a document be pointed to. Alfa and Beta describe the same three patterns (1+3, 1+2, 2+3), each differently. The remaining five patterns have no entry in either of them, and this must not be read as a prohibition or as consent.
Eight patterns of three lamps
Three patterns have entries, and in each of them the documents diverge; four have no entry in either document; one is a dark signal. This is an excerpt from the model, not a survey of real signals.
| Pattern | Alfa regulations | Beta regulations | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| all lamps off 000 | no entry | no entry | ○ dark signal |
| lamp 3 only 001 | no entry | no entry | ∅ no entries |
| lamp 2 only 010 | no entry | no entry | ∅ no entries |
| lamps 2+3 011 | Sample no. 3 | Sample no. 2 | ≠ meaning collision |
| lamp 1 only 100 | no entry | no entry | ∅ no entries |
| lamps 1+3 101 | Sample no. 1 | Sample no. 3 | ≠ meaning collision |
| lamps 1+2 110 | Sample no. 2 | Sample no. 1 | ≠ meaning collision |
| all three 111 | no entry | no entry | ∅ no entries |
Explanation and limits
A signal needs a document
The pattern and colour of the lights may look familiar, but without a place, a function and a dated document no meaning can be assigned to them. Changing the document changes the reading without changing how the signal looks. That is why the page has one signal and two documents.
A photograph does not prove meaning
A photograph of a mast with lamps records the support for the light. Without the regulation in force on the day of the photograph, any attempt at a reading is a hypothesis.
Official sources are not yet a catalogue
According to V2, the Maritime Office publishes port documents which do not in themselves form a ready-made historical catalogue of devices; a researcher would first have to identify the port, the installation and a closed table of meanings. This claim was taken over from V2 and has not been checked in this work.
The title “semaphore” is a working one
It has not been established whether this is a gantry semaphore, a harbour-entrance signal or another device, so the drawing is a diagram of three lamps, not a portrait of a device.
What this page does not do
- It is not a signal code and does not tell anyone what to do with a ship. For navigation, use the documents in force and the competent authorities.
- “Sample no. 1–3” from Alfa and Beta have no counterpart in any real code.
- The absence of an entry is neither a prohibition nor consent. A dark signal is not a message.
- Setting a document aside does not change the lamps; it shows that without a document nothing follows from the lamps. When one document is set aside, the lack of a comparison does not mean agreement.
- The lamps shine with a steady light. Nothing on the page flashes or moves.
What changed relative to V2
- Removed the 4-pillar auditor with its form, local-storage saving and card copying. It only counted filled-in fields and taught nothing about the signal. The four pillars remain as the “Four things…” section.
- Removed the “own card” mode from the document choice, because it depended on that form.
- Replaced the choice of one dictionary at a time with two documents visible simultaneously and a “Set aside” button, which shows the state without a document.
- Moved the full matrix of eight patterns to the table below and removed the filters.
- Corrected the message about a missing entry: V2 called it an “anomaly”, which has no basis in the model.
- Corrected the meaning of state 000: V2 called it a “consistent blackout” with a green verdict, “no emission — device at rest”, thereby confirming no emission in both models. In V3 a dark signal is neither a message nor agreement between documents: it is a “dark signal” with no ruling, and neither document in the model has an entry for it.
Sources and status of materials
- Urząd Morski w Szczecinie — Przepisy portowe [Maritime Office in Szczecin — port regulations] A link taken over from V2 as context. It was not opened in this work: whether the page is up to date, and whether it contains anything about light signals, needs to be checked. This page quotes no code or meaning from it.
- Alfa and Beta regulations Invented teaching compilations taken over from V2, where they were described as consistent with V1. Consistency with V1 was not checked in this work. They have no port, no date and no author.
- Drawing of the signal and mast An original diagram made by the Claude Sonnet 5.5 model for this page; it is not a photograph, a map or a technical drawing of a specific device.