Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue - Homemade solution inside

[CarpentryHero]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

I know the head is unscrewable but its glued and would be difficult to open and to put back together. On the other hand I will exchange it so I don't want to risk it.

My sc600 wasn't threadlocked, is it the reflector that's glued? Or was it just cause mines an earlier generation coolwhite (preorder)



Edit:

Yeah send er back, that way Zebralight is aware of the problem

 

[Fireclaw18]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

from the pics of the lit reflector it looks like the die on the SC600w is too high. As a result the bottom of the reflector doesn't have line of sight to the surface of the die and is instead only reflecting the unlit sides of the die.

 

[jayke]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

The orange peel looks almost identical on both reflectors. The Cool White version has much more throw whereas the Warm version has no real spot al all. Another thing which has nothing to do with the beam. The Warm from the new batch has a much darker gray color to it. I definitly preferred the light neutral color. It seems a few shades darker.

 

[Wreck3r]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

from the pics of the lit reflector it looks like the die on the SC600w is too high. As a result the bottom of the reflector doesn't have line of sight to the surface of the die and is instead only reflecting the unlit sides of the die.

The lit reflector is the SC600 flashlight which is the one I'm having issues with and I don't have the SC600w.

 

[subwoofer]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

Very good photos of the emitter surface, obviously showing the entire surface is evenly lit.

LED centring is much obsessed about and in reality is not as critical as many say. I have several off centre LEDs, but no beam problems.

However the height of the LED may be the culprit in combination with a less than perfect reflector design. I recently came across a light with a very high position for the LED and it had a bad beam.

Are the beam problems obvious on all output settings?

 

[robostudent5000]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

great image. the emitter is clearly off center. as others have said, centering by itself may not be the lone culprit, but here it is most likely a contributing factor. you should send this pic and, more importantly, the beamshot to the seller you got it from. they need to replace this for you.

 

[subwoofer]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

great image. the emitter is clearly off center. you should send this pic and the beamshot to the seller you got it from. they need to replace this for you.

Apart from minor misalignments having little effect especially with OP reflectors, the OP said this photo was taken with the camera higher than the SC600, therefore negating any ability to tell how well the LED is aligned.

I'm curious, how did you come to that conclusion based on that photo?

I agree it does look like a return is needed, but based on the original beamshot.

 

[Wreck3r]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

Very good photos of the emitter surface, obviously showing the entire surface is evenly lit.

LED centring is much obsessed about and in reality is not as critical as many say. I have several off centre LEDs, but no beam problems.

However the height of the LED may be the culprit in combination with a less than perfect reflector design. I recently came across a light with a very high position for the LED and it had a bad beam.

Are the beam problems obvious on all output settings?

Hey subwoofer, unfortunately the dark area is visible on all output levels.


robostudent5000: you can see the misalignment in the other pictures not in the one you quoted as subwoofer mentioned. Also, the misalignment is generating that non-symmetrical, moon shaped, darker area. If it weren't misaligned, i presume that the height of the LED would have generated a ring pattern. If it were more recessed then the darker area wouldn't have been visible even if it were misaligned. This is just my understanding.

 

[robostudent5000]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

Apart from minor misalignments having little effect especially with OP reflectors, the OP said this photo was taken with the camera higher than the SC600, therefore negating any ability to tell how well the LED is aligned.

you can see the misalignment in his other photos where the camera appears to be at the same height. it was just my opinion that the photo that i quoted looked more persuasive since it shows the emitter powered up and evenly lit, which ruled out the emitter itself as a possible culprit.

just an FYI, maybe the ZL reflector is different, but i have seen small alignment difference having a big impact on a beam even when using an OP reflector. emitters with larger emitting surfaces seem to be more sensitive to this effect. that's the impression i've gotten anyway.

I agree it does look like a return is needed, but based on the original beamshot.

i agree. as i said above, the beamshot is more important.

also, it looks like you replied to my post before i amended it. it looks like your post went up (time stamp XX:09) while i was editing my post (time stamp XX:12). and as a result, i did not see your post until later.

the misalignment is generating that non-symmetrical, moon shaped, darker area. If it weren't misaligned, i presume that the height of the LED would have generated a ring pattern. If it were more recessed then the darker area wouldn't have been visible even if it were misaligned. This is just my understanding.

i think so too.

 

[mrlysle]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

Folks, here's a couple shots of my SC60w emitter, and a couple beamshots. I realize it's not the XM-L. Maybe the XM-L is more suseptible to to slight misalignment, not sure. But I have other lights with orange peel reflectors and off center emitters, and still get perfect beams from them. These photos are fust FYI.

 

[roadkill1109]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

Sigh. Was so excited when i received it just to find this problem. Do you think ZL will handle RMA in Europe? I bought it from a well known site in UK (don't think I can post the name) and had it shipped to me in Romania. Good thing I haven't ordered the sc80 also. Is this a common issue with ZL?

ZL's are legendary to have some QC issues every now and then, you could ask your vendor next time to check the light first before sending it off to you. That's what I do with mine.

 

[af112566]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

i purchased a sc600 a week ago based on all the good reviews.the beam is a little funky on a wall, but i dont notice it very much when in use.overall i like the light but wish zebralight would have looked closer at the reflector/led alignment before releasing them..

 

[Wreck3r]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

I spoke with both Zebralight.com and the UK shop from where I purchased the light. Zebralight told me to ship the flashlight to China for inspection (3 weeks delivery to China and who knows when it will come back - I received no details regarding a time frame) and the webshop told me that they will replace it and check the new one before sending it (5 days shipping to them and 5 returning to me). So I went with webshop return option mostly because of the shorter time for delivery and that they offered to check the new light before sending it without any suggestions from my side :thumbsup:.

Thanks for your support CPF community.

 

[Wreck3r]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

Unfortunately the story continues. After returning the bad hot spot SC600, the dealer took the time to test the one he would send me. He then informed me that out of 7 tested SC600 he sent me the one with the best hot spot.

I didn't quite understand the statement, but when I received the replacement I saw what he was talking about. This one was indeed better, but far from a normal hot spot like in my 4sevens quark x aa2. I then opened the top saying f... it and removed the reflector. Used some o-rings (0.5mm thickness) to lift the reflector and put it back together.

Everything is fixed now, but this will be my last Zebralight. Out of 7 tested SC600 the one I received was the best one.

Oh, and by the way, half of the reflector was a little fogged (hazed) when I received it. I thought that it was humidity but it didn't go away when I opened it. It is only visible when the output is on max, on other levels you can't distinguish it. Maybe in the future I will clean it, but I can't see any bad effect of this just yet.

Cheers

 

[ledmitter]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

Unfortunately the story continues. After returning the bad hot spot SC600, the dealer took the time to test the one he would send me. He then informed me that out of 7 tested SC600 he sent me the one with the best hot spot.

I didn't quite understand the statement, but when I received the replacement I saw what he was talking about. This one was indeed better, but far from a normal hot spot like in my 4sevens quark x aa2. I then opened the top saying f... it and removed the reflector. Used some o-rings (0.5mm thickness) to lift the reflector and put it back together.

Everything is fixed now, but this will be my last Zebralight. Out of 7 tested SC700 the one I received was the best one.

Oh, and by the way, half of the reflector was a little fogged (hazed) when I received it. I thought that it was humidity but it didn't go away when I opened it. It is only visible when the output is on max, on other levels you can't distinguish it. Maybe in the future I will clean it, but I can't see any bad effect of this just yet.

Cheers

Man I sympathize with you. If you've seen my XT11 defects thread then know why I share your frustration.

I believe this image is very fitting here.

 

[reppans]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

I spoke with both Zebralight.com and the UK shop from where I purchased the light. Zebralight told me to ship the flashlight to China for inspection (3 weeks delivery to China and who knows when it will come back - I received no details regarding a time frame) and the webshop told me that they will replace it and check the new one before sending it (5 days shipping to them and 5 returning to me). So I went with webshop return option mostly because of the shorter time for delivery and that they offered to check the new light before sending it without any suggestions from my side :thumbsup:.

Lucky the dealer took care of you, well to the extent he could. I have an H51w, and lucky it's been perfect, but I'm reluctant to buy more lights from them due to the spotty quality control, short warranty, and especially the RMA-back-to-China stuff. If you don't catch a problem right out the box, it's often borderline worth it to ship overseas for repair.

 

[af112566]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

was it hard to open up the head?? im thinking about doing it but dont want to break it....

 

[Wreck3r]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

was it hard to open up the head?? im thinking about doing it but dont want to break it....

It takes some force because the head has its threads glued, but it can be done by hand. I don't think you can break it as long as you do it by hand and keep the force only on the metallic parts, not the glass or anything else.

 

[NM08SRT8]

Here is mine, SC600

Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

 

[Fireclaw18]

Re: Zebralight SC600 Hotspot issue

So surprising to me all these reflector issues.

I own 3 Zebralights (SC600, SC80, SC51). All three have absolutely perfect beams with zero rings of any kind. I own dozens of flashlights, but my three Zebralights have the best beam patterns of any light I own.