Question: tailcap lockout - Zebralight H30-Q5

[peacefuljeffrey]

I just got a Zebralight H30-Q5 LED flashlight.
I like it a lot--it's nice and compact and has good functionality with the three levels.

I'd have preferred a clickie switch, because the activation pressure for the electronic switch is quite light. But at least there's a tailcap lockout function, I found--much to my relief.

Well, I'm just a little confounded, because I don't understand how the tailcap lockout works--I know only that it works. To turn the light on, you screw the tailcap on very nearly to the end of its threads! The difference between locked-out and not locked-out is a tiny tiny bit of turn! How does this thing accomplish that?

 

[Hondo]

The negative contact is between the milled end of the tube and the disc inside the tailcap, which is connected to the spring touching the back of the battery. As soon as the end of the tube breaks contact from the face inside the tailcap, the light is dead. No current can flow throught the threads because they are anodized, and anodizing is completely non-conductive.

 

[DM51]

Moving this to the Headlamps section.

 

[peacefuljeffrey]

The negative contact is between the milled end of the tube and the disc inside the tailcap, which is connected to the spring touching the back of the battery. As soon as the end of the tube breaks contact from the face inside the tailcap, the light is dead. No current can flow throught the threads because they are anodized, and anodizing is completely non-conductive.

Hondo, thank you very much for the prompt and sensible explanation.

Now that I look at it, I can see that the threaded barrel of the light does indeed reach that far into the tailcap, as you said.

Cheers!


edit: So, if the anodizing eventually were to wear down/off, does that mean that the circuit would be complete at all times, and "lockout" would be impossible?

 

[Hondo]

Hondo, thank you very much for the prompt and sensible explanation.

Now that I look at it, I can see that the threaded barrel of the light does indeed reach that far into the tailcap, as you said.

Cheers!


edit: So, if the anodizing eventually were to wear down/off, does that mean that the circuit would be complete at all times, and "lockout" would be impossible?

I am rather certain that it still would lock out if the portion of the threads that wear were to completely wear off the anodizing, which is not very likely in the first place. The reason is that the metal trace on the edge of the board with the spring on it is not touching the inside of the cap (on mine) and if it were, the cap is anodized all the way up beyond where the threads are, so there is never a path for the current to get into the cap in the first place, and then find it's way through worn threads. This was a concern on the Gerber Infinity Ultra's, and that it would not allow the light to be shut off, since it uses this contact as the switch. I think the same argument applies to those, and I have been using one for years with no problem. And even with the tailcap twist as the switching mechanism, I don't have any visible wear on the thread anodizing, although I keep mine clean and well lubed.