NØEQ Snorkel Antenna
... Portable Remote, in the desert Southwest, USA
 
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Why is it called a "Snorkel"? Because as I experimented with camo paint I found that it resembled the paint scheme on the snorkel/periscope of a submarine. It's not really an "antenna" in it's current configuration. It's a multi use mast. The photos here show it as the center support for a wire dipole. It can also quickly be configured for a pair of horizontal hamsticks, a vertical ground plane or whatever else I might conceive of. First two shots show the base and lowest section. The coax is spiraled around the mast to help break up the vertical lines. The camo paint is also applied to try and break up any symmetrical shaped objects (the mast joints). |
 
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Break the Symmetry Disguise a man made object by Breaking up any symmetry that tends to suggest "man made object". The mast itself is the most obvious symmetrical object. It gets broken up a bit by the coax wrapped around the mast (and painted to match). Notice the diagonal stripes of camo on the mast joints. That tends to break up it's symmetry. I deliberately left the upper most joint knobs/bolts all one color. Note how they are not as disguised as the parts with paint breakup. Note also the 3/8" hole in the mast near the top section photo on the far left. Holes are always dark due to shadows. That hole shows up really well on it's field of TAN (light color) paint. The hole in the right photo is "split" with 50/50 light and dark paint. That "split" tends to disguise the hard edges of the hole. |
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Man Made Objects in Natural Settings With the snorkel against a background of foliage and trees, it begins to blend and disappear. The background is a visual collection of light and dark, asymmetrical "blotches". I attempted to do the same thing with my camo paint experiments. I actually painted the mast while it was in place, where you see it in the pics. That way, I could use the background to help suggest where I might want either light or dark "blotches" on the mast. |
  
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Where did it Go? The mast is obviously stationary. The viewer is typically not stationary. As the viewpoint moves around the mast, the background changes and tends to help or hurt the camo/disguise effect. In the right most photo, the mast is visually inline with the palm tree. It has virtually disappeared from view. |
 
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Nothing Obtrusive Here Leftmost photo is a view from the bridle path/alley at the rear of our property. Somewhere in that "visual confusion" is the snorkel mast, as well as a 2m jpole mounted on an 8' pole on the roof. Can you spot the two antennas? Rightmost photo shows how the top of the snorkel (bulky balun, mounts) tends to disappear if the viewpoint places that top area in a naturally occurring visual "cluster". In this case, the branch/leaf swell at the top of the tree produces the visual cluster that helps hide the mast. |
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Move the Mast In the next few photos I've moved the snorkel about 12 feet. It's now a little closer to the palm tree in the center of most of the photos. The top of the snorkel is in the area surrounded by the central palm tree. Note how you can just barely see the dipole wires. Compare that with the picture below, where the wire is illuminated by the sun at my back. Note also how the rightmost wire seems to stop being visible near the edge of the pic. See below for that explanation. |
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Disguise the Wire See the wire that runs generally from the palm tree toward the left side of the photo? It's pretty visible because it is reflecting the sun, which is at my back. Note also how the wire reflection seems to stop near the edge of the photo. That's not camera/sun angle, it's a different style of wire. The first 17 feet of wire is stranded copperflex. The rest of the wire is plain steel electric fence wire. The steel fence wire has oxidized on the reel and has a dull, grey finish. It would apparently be productive to the disguise goal to either use steel, weathered wire, or to somehow allow or force the copper wire to develop patina to reduce the telltale reflections. |
 
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Utilize Sun Glare and Similar Visual Objects In the photo on the left, the camera is looking generally INTO the sun. This makes it more difficult for the viewer to discern visual clues that suggest "man made object". The photo on the right shows the single, vertical antenna mast, in a field of other vertical objects. Can you spot the snorkel? The upper sections are in the area where you see the brick chimney and roof mounted A/C unit. |
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