The Official Zebralight Thread

[Lips]

On the SC53 models it's a boost converter for the Alkaline and Eneloop batteries. Your gonna loose some efficiency getting the 1.2 to around 3v.

Using the Lith-Ion the SC53 light has no Buck Convertor but uses a linear regulator-resistor design to lower 4v down which your going to loose some efficiency on too.

Tonight I'm gonna run a simple test of one SC53w at H2b-198 Lumens.

Gonna see which battery chemistry will run the longest using a DHSS recording security Camera to capture step-down for each battery chemistry. Turn the light on and let the camera do its everyday thing!

Fujisu 2450 mah ------------------- All refreshed and charged.
Eneloop Pro 2450 mah
Enloop White 2000 mah
Vapcell H10 (10amp) 1000 mah
Vapcell F12 (3amp) 1250 mah

 

[jon_slider]

anybody else with the new SC53c N getting a beacon flash that cannot be turned off? Or is there a fix?

found the answer:

I exchanged mine and the new one is not exhibiting that behavior.

Alkaline had the same problem, 14500 was fine.

apparently the SC53c N Flash Bug only affects some lights, and only on Eneloop or Alkaline..

 

[radellaf]

Tint comparison of two Nichias vs the LH351 ZL. I like #1 best. By itself it doesn't look rosy and you could even find yellow in around the hotspot. Compared to other tints, though, it's nice. Mostly I was surprised to see this much variation from two SC53s in the same order. I guess ZL orders the "grab bag" reel.

 

[Streak]

On the SC53 models it's a boost converter for the Alkaline and Eneloop batteries. Your gonna loose some efficiency getting the 1.2 to around 3v.

Using the Lith-Ion the SC53 light has no Buck Convertor but uses a linear regulator-resistor design to lower 4v down which your going to loose some efficiency on too.


View attachment 42470

Tonight I'm gonna run a simple test of one SC53w at H2b-198 Lumens.

Gonna see which battery chemistry will run the longest using a DHSS recording security Camera to capture step-down for each battery chemistry. Turn the light on and let the camera do its everyday thing!

Fujisu 2450 mah ------------------- All refreshed and charged.
Eneloop Pro 2450 mah
Enloop White 2000 mah
Vapcell H10 (10amp) 1000 mah
Vapcell F12 (3amp) 1250 mah

Looking forward to your real world results.

 

[lampeDépêche]

found the answer:




apparently the SC53c N Flash Bug only affects some lights, and only on Eneloop or Alkaline..

Huh. So maybe I should send mine back. Pity, that, because of the hassle.
And I might not bother, because -- as I said before -- I always unscrew my tailcaps when I am not using them. So I don't really have the experience of having it off with the tailcap tight for long periods of time.

 

[Mister Ed]

Getting this thread back on track.

 

[defloyd77]

I've been racking my brain thinking of a G7 setup for my SC53c N that addresses some of my gripes with the G5 ui and kind of operates somewhat similarly to how I typically use my other e-switched lights (Anduril 2, Olight, Folomov, etc.)

Long press - 4.1 and .31
Click - 122 and 30
Double click - 330 and 65

My intent is to always make sure I turn the light off with 30 and 330 saved in the memory so like my other e-switched lights, from off press and hold gives me low, click for medium and double click for high/turbo.

Similarly when in the M and H modes, a double click with cycle between a higher output and a medium output, which addresses my previous comment about how I use my Anduril lights on my walks to easily transition from darker areas, to lit areas.

The only downside to this setup is if I want to go from 4.1 lumens to 30 lumens, I'd either have to cycle through 330 or turn the light off and back on.

 

[ScottsoSmith]

Has anyone seen published runtime and lumen ratings for the SC53cN. The website still seems to be blank on this topic.

 

[Lips]

Ran 5 batteries through full run-time test using SC53w.

Low Voltage Protection FAILED on all but one test.

Claimed 2.3 hrs at 198 Lumens on Eneloop Pro is correct if you divide it by 2! That had to be a fantasy. Claimed 10-20% remaining after step-down is a fantasy too on an Eneloop.

Need to re-run Vapcell F12 as it ran a very long time with no step-down but drained the cell down to 1.58v. Need to be around to watch it...

Going to re-run Eneloop Pro with a fan blowing right on light to see if that helps to get the run-times Zebra is claiming as I ran all the test no cooling. Light might have go a little hot at 130 F and gave problems to the LVP.

.

 

[Deleted member 763418]

What's your definition of LVP failing? What was the end voltage?

How old are your Eneloop Pros? Have any regular Eneloops to test with?

It's pretty well known that Eneloop Pros don't have nearly as many cycles as regular Eneloops and thus die (high internal resistance) much quicker.

I've recycled all my Energizer high capacity NiMH but still have all my regular Eneloops that are now 8 years old. All still measure under 25mΩ (AC IR test).

 

[jon_slider]

Ran 5 batteries through full run-time test using SC53w.
Low Voltage Protection FAILED on all but one test.
...
Need to re-run Vapcell F12 as it ran a very long time with no step-down but drained the cell down to 1.58v.

thanks for testing

Maybe lack of LVP is part of the reason the SC53c N does not officially support LiIon? Does a protected LiIon fit in the 53 model hosts?

some info from Zebralight quoted from here:

"The H53/SC53/H503 driver is a slightly improved version of the H52/SC52/H502 driver. Again, if we were to put the same (bin) XM-L2 LED in the H53, we'd see some improvements there (in output and efficiency). On top of that, the new UI requires more memory space. Dropping off the 14500 support is among the very few options we had."

 

[lampeDépêche]

Need to re-run Vapcell F12 as it ran a very long time with no step-down but drained the cell down to 1.58v. Need to be around to watch it...

Eek! not good! Li-ion's should not be drained that low (as you know).
Okay -- that's another reason why those of us who like to run Li-ions in our H/S 53 series are doing so at our own risk....

 

[jon_slider]

those of us who like to run Li-ions in our H/S 53 series are doing so at our own risk....

I also use unprotected batteries in unprotected lights, I try to check voltage regularly.

New info:
Protected 14500 LiIon fit in the SC53c N:

"Not sure if LVP works or not because all my 14500's are protected, so I've never had this issue (and to answer at least part of the question from the link—yes, at least some protected 14500's will fit—I have used Lumintop's and Acebeam's 14500's in my H53, my SC53, and my SC5)"

 

[Lips]

What's your definition of LVP failing? What was the end voltage?

How old are your Eneloop Pros? Have any regular Eneloops to test with?

It's pretty well known that Eneloop Pros don't have nearly as many cycles as regular Eneloops and thus die (high internal resistance) much quicker.

I've recycled all my Energizer high capacity NiMH but still have all my regular Eneloops that are now 8 years old. All still measure under 25mΩ (AC IR test).

Running Li-ion down to 1.58v and running Eneloop to .84v to the point LED is at very low output and doing a flicker flash unable to maintain a low level output and still eating at the battery.

Eneloop Pro and Fijitsu (Fijitsu never used and 1 year old) are low-useage and both cycled to above 2500 mah and ready for prime time. Eneloop whites cycled to 1400mah so I didn't try them. The driver for the SC53 is in the 60% range which is terrible vs 90% for others so didn't expect huge run-times...

I documented all the step-down times and such for each battery but it's allot to compile. I want to run couple more test also and I need to be present to catch the low flicker flash when voltage gets too low.

---------------------------
I thought for sure SC53 had LVP and RVP but was aware it might not.
Exchange between thefreeman/m4potofu and mcbob:
thefreeman/m4potofu is a French guy that test and builds drivers:

m4potofu 1 yr. ago

I have several modded SC53/H53s here and they work fine on 14500 without getting too hot even with an inefficient LED like 219B. H1 on li-ion has a 60 second stepdown, so in theory you could keep resetting it, but the light would get too hot to hold before the driver acts up.

Yeah I tested it without heatsinking and the driver itself needs to dissipate nearly 3W on H1 with Vin=4V, that's a lot of power, but maybe ok for 60s in the flashlight, the flickering is likely due to the boost IC thermal protection (same behavior with other ICs I used).

Are you sure about LVP?

Well, it's not turning off, no step down either, maybe the firmware changed, mine is recent.

Zebralight claims the H53/SC53 have RVP, but well...

There is no RPP PFET unlike their non AA models, batt+ is directly connected to the inductor, min voltage for the boost IC is -0.3V so... yeah that's not true ZL...

---------------------------
Only run that acted correctly Vapcell H10 ending at 2.98v. Stepping down to lower levels with around 7hr total runtime... Red check marks you can see some step-downs...

 

[chillinn]

My recent generation SC53c (Cree XP-L2 EasyWhite) does not have LVP.

Low battery alert when the light is switched OFF (LED flashes if the battery voltage is below ~1.06V)

Unlike my SC5c Mk II, which cuts out at 0.95V or 0.9V, I forget. Oddly, the product page says nothing about its LVP.

fwiw, rationally, my Zebralights are Eneloop and Eneloop Pro (IKEA 2450) only. If I need more brightness, I'll grab my 18650 LeeF z46 1794 (1000Lm) or 3x 18650 LeeF KT4 G4 WA1185 (1280Lm). Why screw around?

 

[jon_slider]

m4potofu 1 yr. ago
< Are you sure about LVP?
Bob_McBob> Well, it's not turning off

> There is no RPP PFET

great info, No LVP on LiIon, and no RPP, in the 53 series.. good to know

 

[Nuppet]

I wish Zebralight would released a flashlight where I could disable beacon. I've a number of Zebralights and it's way too easy to into beacon mode on them.

 

[chillinn]

I just wish you didn't wish that. It's all I've ever wanted. If only my wish would come true, maybe I could be happy.

But seriously, there are other, IMO, far more important improvements that could be made to Zebralights, such as having a circuit that is fully constant current without any flashy dips in brightness, and if that circuit existed, it would be more efficient than ZL's current circuits. Also, it'd be really nice to have more than just neutral and cool white color temperatures. Yes, neutral. Yes, cool white. How about warm white, too! Choice is better than no choice. If these two improvements could be executed, I'd accept more than twice as many beacon/strobe modes.

All you need do, Nuppet, is slow down. That will solve the issue.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

All you need to do chillinn, is stop telling people what to do and think. This forum is not all about you.

Regarding Nuppet’s legitimate desire, can’t help wonder if an Anduril enabled Zebralight could be firmware reflashed to remove strobe/beacon feature? And further simplified to avoid errant multiple clicks taking the user somewhere not wanted.

 

[SYZYGY]

I wish Zebralight would released a flashlight where I could disable beacon. I've a number of Zebralights and it's way too easy to into beacon mode on them.

i think that's a pretty reasonable wish. problem is the economic design philosophy of ZL. it's clear the guy pushes memory to the limit (which is the stated reason behind removal of official liion support from new AA lights).

i'd personally be happy with paying $0.50 or even $5.00 more per light for an MCU with more memory to get more convenience and customization features into the fw. i don't think the ZL engineer feels the same way though.

and although the drivers are great, i'd also shell out a little more for an even better design. bigger inductor if needed, brand new TI regulator, etc.

how about even lower moonlights? i thought the sc700d moonlight (setting 1/12) was very low until i tried using it the other night when i woke up in darkness. it is actually quite bright when your eyes are completely dark adjusted and you've just woken up.