The SNORT System!

During WWII the Dutch were the first to develop a Snort System. This was soon capitalized on by the Germans and further adopted by the British in the 1950s.

By breathing air into the boat through a periscope height tube, the submarine could recharge batteries and stay unseen for many days. Being at periscope depth also avoided detection from sonar.

It would therefore seem reasonable that model submarines adopt the same idea, and this gives them many advantages over current model diving systems.

Lets establish some facts regarding model dives. Deep dives are very infrequent and not desired, as the boat is often out of sight. Periscope depth, or just below the surface, is the normal depth.

There are many ways to achieve this operation, and they ALL currently have their disadvantages.

RCABS (RCAB-R) & Piston Systems.  Expensive, high maintenance, prone to leaks, many mechanical and electrical parts, difficult to assemble, takes up space, difficult to get boat to correct waterline trim, not for amateurs

Gas Systems. Although gas systems have none of the problems associated with the other systems, their operation needs to be monitored to ensure sufficient gas is on board. Of course, the argument is also that gas costs a little money.

The SNORT system revolutionizes the ballast tank problem. Taking up no more space, the system sucks air through the Snort tube in the sail/conning tower, and blows the ballast tank in a stately scale-like manner. The existing Sub-driver system has a servo-operated valve, which ‘vents’ the ballast tank to submerge. Almost limitless amounts of shallow dives can be commanded. When a deep dive occurs, or a failsafe system kicks in, the normal gas system operates, blowing the tank to surface the boat. This gas discharge could also be blown into a bladder/liner outside the Sub-driver.

The low pressure compressor can still operate if the Snort is underwater and the pump is still running. The pump will simply pump water into the ballast tank, which will exit through the holes in the bottom of the ballast tank, and not effect the buoyancy of the boat.

	This is a 39" Moebius Models Seaview with its D&E Sub-driver. The Snort system is to be installed within the DRY compartment of the Sub-driver. Using Plasti-dip, the pump motor can easily be waterproofed and installed outside the cylinder on certain models.
	Here you can see the Snort tube being installed into the sail.
	Two types of pump are available. The smaller unit is ideal for installation into models like the Trumpeter Kilo and Seawolf, and pushes out 1 pint of water per minute with a discharge head of 3" with only 4.5 volts at the motor, a bit below nominal voltage for this unit.
	The ES1 switch, an ideal way to control the pump. Alternatively, a micro-servo and a micro-switch could be used.