The Official Zebralight Thread

[desert.snake]

About 12 minutes ago zebra fell from me - I put it on a roll of paper for hands, it is about 20 cm long. The zebra fell into the hole vertically with the glass up and hit the table. That is, it fell by 20 cm in total in the on state and went out. No actions with the button revived it. Only unscrewing and tightening the back cover made it work. Apparently the power interruption from shaking somehow stuns the processor. Do all zebras have this behavior or is it only for the SC52W version?

 

[lampeDépêche]

No idea what the answer is about the electronics, but I love the illustration!

 

[chillinn]

The force of impact of the cell against the tail spring compressed the spring enough to temporarily cause an air gap between the cathode and the driver contact interrupting the circuit. Not only all Zebralights, but all flashlights and all lights and electrical devices have this behavior, i.e. interrupting the circuit will cause it to turn off.

 

[jon_slider]

all flashlights and all lights and electrical devices have this behavior, i.e. interrupting the circuit will cause it to turn off.

well... I am unable to make any of these lights turn off by slapping the tails against my hand.. (they just make my hand hurt.. lol)



Maybe the zebra that failed the Paper Tower Roll test, just needed the head screwed down tighter?

 

[chillinn]

The tail spring on SC52/53 is a larger spring with more travel than on those. You were unable to interrupt the circuit, but if you could, I assure you they also would cease firing.

 

[jon_slider]

a larger spring with more travel

that makes sense.. im suprised the battery can bounce off the positive post so easily...

also suprised the tailcap has to be unscrewed and replaced, to restore switch function..

 

[KITROBASKIN]

¨No actions with the button revived it¨

The micro circuitry, possibly involving the capacitor(s) possibly caused a shutdown, requiring a reset. No big deal.

That is my guess, but strange anomalies happen with some of my electronic stuff on occasion.

Regarding the graphic;
Fun and appreciated. Thinking the sound of impact was more like a THWAP! or possibly PLUNK! depending on what type of table surface.

 

[radellaf]

Deep clip: I'm not sure about the tool, but, sure, there are lights which would turn on depending where they're clipped and how you move... I guess I just wouldn't clip those. A lot of time I clip to something that's not on me, to mount the light essentially, or on a belt-loop or something. I just hate how deep generally gets in the way of removing the tailcap. And, yeah, harder to unclip. Not crazy about how it looks. IDK, I was just annoyed when I talked to one mfg and they acted like _everyone_ wants deep so quit being different and go away. Shrug.

Just powered on the second SC53cN and what a different tint! I'd call this one slightly rosy, vs the other one I'd call ivory. No xrite tool here to quantify it. I generally prefer some rose, so this is great. Without having them side-by-side, though, it's pretty hard to tell. I'll do a beam-on-the-wall shot over the weekend.

Now I get to program the second one with many clicks and patience. Or not. I was going to leave it at work, but I think I want the rosy one at home. I didn't expect a tint difference on the first batch, from unit-to-unit.

Well, wallet is safe until the next 519 release, be it sc5, or 18650 models.


The drop causing a non-functional power button is kinda odd for a flashlight. Glad that removing the tailcap worked. I've had plenty of lights where the positive end of the battery (yeah, technically the cathode though I've never heard it called that in terms of the device it's being used in, vs internal discussions of battery construction) bounces. Fun on the lights where that steps through the levels, esp if the spring is so loose you can just lightly bang it on your thigh and change brightness.

 

[Deleted member 763418]

Maybe the zebra that failed the Paper Tower Roll test, just needed the head screwed down tighter?

The ZebraLight is only two pieces, head/body (single piece) and the tail cap.

 

[desert.snake]

¨No actions with the button revived it¨

The micro circuitry, possibly involving the capacitor(s) possibly caused a shutdown, requiring a reset. No big deal.

That is my guess, but strange anomalies happen with some of my electronic stuff on occasion.

Regarding the graphic;
Fun and appreciated. Thinking the sound of impact was more like a THWAP! or possibly PLUNK! depending on what type of table surface.

This was the first picture that came up))

Yeah, most likely you're right, this happens on all zebras. On the MK4, you also periodically need to unscrew the back cover when, after programming, it gets stuck in something like a moonlight

I did another small experiment - I took a pipe from a vacuum cleaner, it is about 1 m, put it vertically on the floor and dropped the lantern again and again. He off in the same way 2 more times during 160 throws into the pipe. So there is nothing to worry about

The drop causing a non-functional power button is kinda odd for a flashlight. Glad that removing the tailcap worked. I've had plenty of lights where the positive end of the battery (yeah, technically the cathode though I've never heard it called that in terms of the device it's being used in, vs internal discussions of battery construction) bounces. Fun on the lights where that steps through the levels, esp if the spring is so loose you can just lightly bang it on your thigh and change brightness.

This is a good trick to change modes, usually happens with flashlights with a mechanical switch


@jon_slider shared information that Nichia with flat domes will be available soon. As I understand it, it will be something like competitors XP-L HI 3V and XHP35 HI 6V, but with a good CRI. Hope the Zebras use them in the future (or we will use them by modifying the current Zebras as the footprints and voltages match well). There is no need to remove the dome yourself, I personally do not like it, since my crooked hands kill diodes

NVSW219C-V2 | Product Data | LED | NICHIA CORPORATION

led-ld.nichia.co.jp

NVSW719AC | Product Data | LED | NICHIA CORPORATION

led-ld.nichia.co.jp

 

[Lawman VII XIV]

Got my SC53cN today. Threw in an Eneloop I had sitting around, and I like this little light. It's a new UI for me so it'll take some getting used to, but not much. It's actually pretty intuitive for me. One thing I noticed right off is the button and opening is smaller and possibly recessed a bit more. This makes it a little tough for my thumb to power it up. I have to use the edge. I'll manage.

The low beam is my favorite bit though. It's enough in a lot of situations. The single click from Off to High is great. The click and hold from Off to Low is great. I'd like to be able to go from Low to High with one click. Dunno if that's possible to program and I'll have to look into that.

In the meantime I'll use it for a month. Then I'll add two LEDs to the reflector and install a 5000mA battery. It'll take a bit of work, but why not.

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

Yes it is completely programmable to your liking, check out the manual.

 

[JimIslander]

Thanks for the charts, chillinn! That's very interesting.
I guess my answer is that, for my use, that first minute or so of 1300 lumens often really is important. I don't often keep my lights on high for 20 minutes. For extended use, I'm more likely to use a medium level or even low (in the house, at night, I mostly want the sublumen levels.)
But I pretty often *do* want 30-90 seconds or so of turbo. That's my initial look around the yard, or my initial glimpse down the dark hole. That's when I want as many lumens as I can get. Of course I also love other things about the ZL's -- the size, the UI, the quality of manufacture, etc.. So, I'm not going to go for a cheap and ugly pocket-rocket just to get a few more lumens.
But if I have a choice between two SC64 models with everything else the same, then that extra output in the initial period genuinely matters to me.

Have you tried "hand cooling" your light, wrapping your hand tightly around the bezel end to make your body act as a heat exchanger? I have several of both lights. I've used this technique to get longer times at full lumens but never timed it.

 

[Connor]

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Jeeez ... I do want that, a lot.

 

[ilikeguns40]

It’s cool and all, but might as well just get an emisar at that point. To me, it’s now no longer a Zebralight, what made Zebralight great is its own driver, UI, and added potting material. I’m good on rainbow colors and a not needed confusing anduril UI with 50 different modes I’ll never use. Lights like this have become toys, I prefer my flashlights to be tools. I’ll take a stock Zebralight any day over this modification

 

[Connor]

Anduril2 in simple mode allows you two have something very similar to the rather "spartan" ZL UI, without any of the fancy features getting in the way. For me, an original ZL with the excellent, efficient driver (potted, too) but Anduril2 added on top would be flashlight EDC perfection.

 

[this_is_nascar]

It’s cool and all, but might as well just get an emisar at that point. To me, it’s now no longer a Zebralight, what made Zebralight great is its own driver, UI, and added potting material. I’m good on rainbow colors and a not needed confusing anduril UI with 50 different modes I’ll never use. Lights like this have become toys, I prefer my flashlights to be tools. I’ll take a stock Zebralight any day over this modification

Well said. Everything that made it a ZL was taken away, so at this point, it's just another flashlight.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Anduril2 in simple mode is truly easy to use until someone (usually me) starts clicking it in the wrong way and causes the flashlight to do something that requires patiently consulting a user sheet to make right again.

Now if Zebralight did their take on ramping, that would be something to invest in for quite a few of us.

 

[chillinn]

I doubt ZL would ever implement ramping because it seems beyond their ideology. It's not as though Andúril2 actually lets you choose whatever brightness level you want, because the ramping is so fast, you can only get near it and never nail exactly what was intended. And ultimately, ramping isn't necessary, has very little if any utility. And because you never know what lumen output you get, it's impossible to estimate runtime at a particular brightness. Ramping is more or less a gimmick. For all these reasons and more, ZL will ignore it.

 

[Connor]

because the ramping is so fast, you can only get near it and never nail exactly what was intended

JFYI: The latest Anduril2 has a setting to modify ramping speed between 100/50/33/25% (2.5/5/7.5/10 seconds end-to-end) so you can find a ramping speed that's right for you and allows you to nail exactly the level you want with the smooth ramping.