Humble Zebralight H30-Q5 Stickybutt Mod

[Ginseng]

I guess I must be a bit behind the curve but I just picked up a Zebralight H30-Q5. This light came up in a discussion of the McGizmo ALM dumb head and I had been hankering for one for some time.

Bottom line impression: A lot of little light for the money. Excellent functionality and design.

But as you guys know, anything good can be made better. While I was pleased with the flat bottom for tailstanding and the no-roll action with the pocket clip installed, I wanted a little more. I wanted more than just to be able to lay it anywhere I wanted. I wanted to be able to mount and direct the light exactly where I needed, off the headband. And so I grabbed some thin, industrial-grade double-sided laminating adhesive film, and a 3/4" x 1/16" N52 rare earth magnet disc and put it all together in a 5-minute mod that had me smiling.

Here's a shot of the butt end with the magnet adhered. You can see that 1/16" is pretty thin and does not add any appreciable bulk or distraction. 3/4" is the exact diameter of the flat on the end and so with careful alignment, the placement is clean.

Here's the Stickybutt H30 in action stuck to the range hood above my stove.

And for comparison, here's what the area looks like with the regular 60-watt Reveal bulb in place.

It is on high and of course it's nowhere near as bright as the bulb (I made no effort to lock exposure) but the light is a lovely flood and eminently useful. The output is pretty darned impressive and I'd say the low matches the low on my ALM-L1 rig and the high indistinguishable from the high. I'm pretty pleased especially for just a hair over $55 all told, IIRC.

Thanks for looking!

Wilkey

 

[EngrPaul]

Re: Humble Zebralight H30-Q5 Stinkybutt Mod

Wow, you made a versitile light even better. :twothumbs

 

[Flying Turtle]

Very nice, Ginseng. Now I must do this with my H50. Thanks for a great idea.

Geoff

 

[Derek Dean]

Yep, that it is a mighty nifty mod. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Ginseng]

Very nice, Ginseng. Now I must do this with my H50. Thanks for a great idea.

Geoff

If you do this for the H50, I'd recommend that you order both the 1/16" and 1/8" to try. The 1/16" works just right for the shorter H30 but being longer, the lever arm of the H50 might need a little extra magnetic oomph to make it stick firmly.

If you can't find 2-sided laminating tape you might try 3M foam tape. Uline has a nice assortment of stuff and I get my magnets from K&J. I've used them for years and have always had good service.

Wilkey

 

[jzmtl]

Nice! Gotta try that with my H60.

 

[Shorty66]

I already did this mod with my h60 as it was mentioned earlier on these forums. Nobody made such nice pics, though ;-)

For the h60 I used 22x2mm N40 magnets. They are definatly strong enugh to hold the leight in all positions with battery installed.

I would not recommend using any thinner magnet though, as Neodym magnets tend to brake in halves if the have a to large diameter versus thickness.

 

[Ginseng]

I already did this mod with my h60 as it was mentioned earlier on these forums. Nobody made such nice pics, though ;-)

For the h60 I used 22x2mm N40 magnets. They are definatly strong enugh to hold the leight in all positions with battery installed.

I would not recommend using any thinner magnet though, as Neodym magnets tend to brake in halves if the have a to large diameter versus thickness.

Congratulations! This proves to me it was a good idea.

Neo magnets are brittle by nature, that is true. I decided to go with such a thin disk because the mounting tape was thin and the butt end was machined reasonably flat. Also, as the 1/16" disk is not super strong even at N52, the stresses are minimal. And if it breaks, I can peel it off and add another $1.25 magnet. And as I remarked, the 1/8" disk would be stronger but it would also have the benefit of being a bit more resistant to breakage. For my use around the house, it is perfect as is...for now.

Wilkey