Zebralight SC52 Owner's Thread

[Swede74]

Has anyone tried a low alkaline battery? I wondee how long it can flash, considuring it is flashing faster.

I have tried all nearly dead alkalines I have managed to lay my hands on, as well as GP ReCyko Gen2 NiMH, "Duraloops" and some old Gen1 NiMH cells in bad condition in both my SC52 and my H502 and none of these have set off the low voltage indicator in either light. I wonder what I'm doing wrong, since it seems unlikely that I got two defective units that work flawlessly in every other regard.

 

[PocketBeam]

I have tried all nearly dead alkalines I have managed to lay my hands on, as well as GP ReCyko Gen2 NiMH, "Duraloops" and some old Gen1 NiMH cells in bad condition in both my SC52 and my H502 and none of these have set off the low voltage indicator in either light. I wonder what I'm doing wrong, since it seems unlikely that I got two defective units that work flawlessly in every other regard.

Do you know the voltage on those cells? What does the built in battery guage show/flash? I wonder if it might be how well it makes contact with the battery. Maybe good contact equals no flashes, but bad contact with low battery equals flashes.

 

[ThirstyTurtle]

New owner here, I've had my SC52 for a few days now and already used it pretty heavily, here are some comments:

1) I was worried coming from a SC51W that the 52 would be too "cool" but I actually quite like the tint, no where near blue, as I expected.
2) Although extremely similar in overall size to the 51 this thing feels and looks substantially smaller. Awesome!
3) The button is so recessed that, although I don't see it EVER accidentally activating in a pocket, it's actually too hard to press in my opinion (a combination of being further recessed and having to be pressed harder than the 51's button).
4) As part of "3" above, the heat fins seem much sharper than the 51 and when I hold it like a pencil and activate the button with my thumb they fins feel like they're cutting my middle finger.
5) The output on 1xAA is finally enough for me, this is the first 1xAA light I've had that I don't feel like I HAVE to run it on 14500 to get the output I want/need. That being said, the output on 14500 is amazing

That's it for now, really enjoying this light and it's my last stop for a while after trying to find the perfect EDC for me (tried SC51W, ET D25A Nichia 219, and SWM V10R XM-L) but this one has the best UI, former factor, appearance, and beam pattern in my opinion. Although obviously the Nichia 219 had a better tint!

 

[Swede74]

Do you know the voltage on those cells? What does the built in battery guage show/flash? I wonder if it might be how well it makes contact with the battery. Maybe good contact equals no flashes, but bad contact with low battery equals flashes.

It's been a while since I tried the low voltage indicator with several batteries but I think most of them were below 1V. I just tested with an alkaline with a voltage of 960 mV. The built-in battery gauge flashes one time. The high levels are gone of course, and M1 is only slightly brighter than L1. No sign of a low voltage warning when the light is turned off.

I'm currently depleting a Duraloop, and when it has reached ~1V I will try that too and update my post.

The Duraloop's voltage is now 980 mV and I am embarrassed: The light does indeed flash every ~10 seconds, but so faintly that you have to look more or less into the front of the light to see it (or be in a dark room, I suppose). Most likely the low voltage indicators have worked on both my SC52 and H502 all along, but I expected them to flash brightly, like the battery gauge, so I never noticed...

 

[PocketBeam]

ThirstyTurtle, #3, My H51 came on in my pocket several times. So far my SC52 has not accidentally turned on. So yes the button is firm. But it seems to do the job. #4, Yes I noted the same sharp edges, also around the button, and where the clip mounts. I filed the ones down around the clip. The other two I don't really notice any more.

Swede74, thanks for the update. I also thought the flashes would be brighter.

I read the website, it doesn't say it flashes once every 80 seconds, it says it flashes every 80 seconds. Now I assume they mean once every 80 seconds. But maybe they mean it flashes a bunch of times, then pauses for about 80 seconds. Has anyone wat he'd long enough to see if there is a pause that lasts over a minute every so often?

 

[b-gin]

I know it fits the Zebralight headband. You have to remove the screwed on clip, and it is tight. So not something you want to do a lot. Another option is to remove the clip, then use the clip from the H51. Then the clip can be reversed and used with a baseball cap
QUOTE]
Exactly what I did

 

[PocketBeam]

Glad that helped. Did you use the H51 clip with a cap or use the headband?

 

[b-gin]

Glad that helped. Did you use the H51 clip with a cap or use the headband?

I use the H51 with headband and GITD mount, but prefer to wear it around my neck.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Thanks to all of you for providing input on what is an excellent flashlight. If I could say, no edges on my unit were too sharp. I got it yesterday from Illumination Supply in less than a week so it is new and maybe the sharpness issue is no longer. Thanks Very Much goes to Selfbuilt for the fine video review. you showed us how to access the strobe, something the directions with the flashlight did not make completely clear. If there is one element that is not ideal in this torch, it is the subjective opinion on my part that, as others have stated, the low settings have a somewhat yellow, maybe even green cast compared with other lights. It is by no means a deal breaker for me. It is the only thing that is not perfect to my taste. The higher beams are beautiful. Thanks again.

 

[Binomial]

Dear all,

It was not clear to me how Zebralight numbers their models. I have asked them to explain What SC52 stands for. Below was a response of Zebralight.

SC stands for "Side Click", 5 is AA battery, 2 is for third generation, after the SC50 and SC51.

 

[janko.hrasko]

love mine let's hope that the led could be replaced with xml2 3c, then it would be even more awesome!

 

[GunnarGG]

love mine let's hope that the led could be replaced with xml2 3c, then it would be even more awesome!

Glad you like it!

Isn't that pretty close to what the SC52w is supposed to be?
Xml2 and IIRC 4400K (maybe 4c?)

I'm waiting for this one to come out.
Sticking with my old sc30 in the meantime

Edit: Link
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...52-amp-SC52w&p=4187734&viewfull=1#post4187734

 

[PocketBeam]

Dear all,

It was not clear to me how Zebralight numbers their models. I have asked them to explain What SC52 stands for. Below was a response of Zebralight.

SC stands for "Side Click", 5 is AA battery, 2 is for third generation, after the SC50 and SC51.

Then what does "S" stand for?

I have the SC600 mk II as well. I think the SC52 is neater. It is smaller, more pocket friendly, and can wow people with 500 lumens. Plus you can use regular AAs if you need to. Don't get me wrong, the SC600 mk II is a great light too. It has a higher High mode, and the runtimes are amazing, but not the same wow from a little package. btw, I am pocket carrying both right now.

 

[Binomial]

Dear all,

Last couple of weeks my SC52 with the 14500 ZL584 840mAh battery of ZebraLight is empty within a few days. I did not loosen the tail cap when not using the light. But by only using the side switch the battery should be fine for at least six months. Has someone else the same problem? The first time I had the 14500 in the SC52 everything worked fine.

Thanks for any comments.

 

[shelm]

Last couple of weeks my SC52 with the 14500 ZL584 840mAh battery of ZebraLight is empty within a few days.

it's designed to be like that, sorry, see t=12m5s:

 

[itsme1234]

Sadly I can confirm that. 0.122 mA on LiIon.
Still, that's about 10% per month, still usable. SC52 is the first light I'm taking on 2 weeks trips without spares and without charger. Of course I can still use normal AAs but never needed.

NiMh eats about 0.022 mA, combined with higher mAh capacity it'll do much better.

 

[Wiggle]

.122 mA should not be draining a 14500 in a couple days:
0.122mA * 24 hours = 2.9 mAh

2.9mAh/800 mAh= 0.36%.

The light should only be draining about .35% (one third of one percent) of it's battery capacity per day. It would take almost 5 months to use even half of the cells energy.

Binomial,
Your light may be faulty.

 

[Binomial]

Thanks for all comments. It is exactly as I thought. The 14500 should be fine for at least six months. The 0.122 mA is not a problem at all.

But, I did measure the drain today. It is not 0.122 mA but 4 mA in my SC52! That explains why the battery is empty after a few days. 800 mAh / (4 mA * 24 h) = 8. The battery drains in only eight days. I thought is was even shorter. Maybe that is because of the higher temperature when carrying the SC52 in a pocket.

I will contact Zebralight. Do I have to sent the SC52 all the way to china or is there an alternative solution?

 

[DavidMB]

That's right, it's not designed to be like that. I'm not sure why anyone would say that is normal. A replacement or repair will fix that issue.

 

[shelm]

Thanks for all comments. It is exactly as I thought. The 14500 should be fine for at least six months. The 0.122 mA is not a problem at all.

But, I did measure the drain today. It is not 0.122 mA but 4 mA in my SC52! That explains why the battery is empty after a few days. 800 mAh / (4 mA * 24 h) = 8. The battery drains in only eight days. I thought is was even shorter. Maybe that is because of the higher temperature when carrying the SC52 in a pocket.

Actually there is an interesting circuit behavior with all SC52's and Eneloops, do the following to reproduce it:

1. stop using the light, unscrew the tailcap, and take out the cell
2. wait for 3 minutes
3. reinsert 1x Eneloop AA into the battery compartment
4. measure the standby current drain with your DMM; the DMM reading will be ~60-100mA
5. put the DMM aside and "lock-in" the tailcap. the LED will produce a short pre-flash and after this 'automatic activation' the drain is the usual 0.020mA: you can unscrew the tailcap and do the tailcap current measurement, the DMM will read ~0.020mA.

It's not a bug. Just very interesting.