The remote control of lighthouses and beacons

The general philosophy behind the remote control of lighthouses and the fundamental principles involved in operating such a system where the maintenance of the navigational service is of paramount importance are outlined. The characteristics of plant suitable for remote control and its integration into a system are described. The number of control functions and monitoring facilities required for each item of plant are discussed, together with an outline of a comprehensive scheme designed to accommodate a number of fully-operational stations operating on a group basis. The technical merits and reliability of various systems of communication are considered and a comparison made on an economic basis for rented circuits, the public telephone network and radio links of differing path length. Finally, details are given for a group of stations which are now being brought under remote control as an experiment to establish the feasibility of the scheme and to determine whether there is a significant economic advantage in operating lighthouses in this way.