Zebralight SC600w IV Plus

[NPL]

BH photo. Was around 8$ for a large sheet.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

BH photo. Was around 8$ for a large sheet.

Nice, but according to B&H you lose 25% of the light output. I'd really have to hate the tint to lose that much output.

 

[NPL]

Nice, but according to B&H you lose 25% of the light output. I'd really have to hate the tint to lose that much output.

In a side by side comparison, you notice a very small output drop. To me the tint improvement is far better than the loss in output, but I agree with you. If you don't mind the stock tint, why compromise in output.

 

[NPL]

The Lee Zircon 804 minus green seems to be the most popular, and that one reduces light output by 15%, which I believe is perceived more closely to 7.5% decrease to the humain brain.

 

[AndyS]

Mine has recently started flashing at about 2 Hz - 4 Hz on what should be H1. I have not purposely changed from the default settings, but I thought I may have accidentally done some other number of clicks when I meant to do a quadruple click to check the battery level. I seldom turn it on high.

I can double click down to H2, and that's on solid, but of course not as bright.

I've tried five clicks to make sure I'm in G5.
I've tried fifteen clicks to reset G5 to default.
The cell is fully charged. It's an unprotected red one I bought from Zebralight with the flashlight "NCR18650GA Panasonic/Sanyo."
I've carried this daily since late December 2017. I doubt I've had to charge the cell even a dozen times.

Anything I could be missing?

 

[Derek Dean]

Andy, have you tried cleaning all the electrical contact points? it seems that with these higher power lights it's even more important to keep the electrical pathway clean. Besides the obvious points where the light has direct contact with the battery, be sure and clean the end of the battery tube and where it makes contact down inside the tailcap.

A Q-tip with a bit of electrical contact cleaner on it is best, but putting rubbing alcohol on the Q-tip will do in a pinch, and don't forget to clean both ends of the battery as well.

 

[Fireclaw18]

Does H1 work at full power in G6 and G7? or does it not work in all mode groups.

If it works in one mode group, but not the others you might want to check your mode programming. Or maybe you just have a bad driver.

If you aren't getting max output in any mode group, the problem could be your battery or it could be a bad ground connection. Try cleaning the contacts at both ends of the battery compartment and the back edge of the tube where it meets the tailcap. I use Deoxit Gold. If that doesn't fix it maybe try a different battery, preferably a high-current draw one from a reputable seller.

If neither of those fix the problem you may have a bad ground connection between the driver and the body of the light. Best way to fix it is to send the light to Zebralight for repair.

 

[AndyS]

Thanks both of you. I had a second identical cell, never used, so I charged it last night and put it in this morning. Same problem. I then clicked six times to get into G6. It still blinks on H1.

I timed the blinking, it's right around 4 Hz. I'll try some contact cleaner next.

 

[AndyS]

No dice. Everything looks really clean, too.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

I timed the blinking, it's right around 4 Hz. I'll try some contact cleaner next.

That's one of the strobe modes. Something sounds screwed up with the driver.

 

[NPL]

Have you tried reprogramming H1?

 

[AndyS]

I tried last night, but I'll try again tonight. My colleagues are starting to notice the bright flashes under my desk.

 

[holygeez03]

Hold your hand over it?

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Try resetting everything to default:

15 quick clicks (G5)
18 quick clicks (G6)
21 quick clicks (G7)

Put the light into H1, then turn off. Click to turn on again in H1. Press and hold until the light cycles through low-medium-high at least 6 times, then let go of the button when the light cycles to medium. (This resets thermal PID, which shouldn't matter, but it's worth a long-shot.)

I'm not aware of any other tricks to return to defaults. So, after that, if you still can't get H1 to work properly, you'll have to return the light for repair. Or perhaps send Zebralight a message to see if they have any other tricks.

 

[AndyS]

Thanks. Tried all of the above, and 5 clicks to ensure in G5, still blinks at 4 Hz. I'll contact Zebralight. It's over 12 months, but maybe they'll be nice to me as I've spent about $750 there over the years.

 

[likethevegetable]

They probably will be nice... they should, it's their newest model.

Yikes, a few mishaps have been reported lately. Please don't slip Zebra, we need you!

Good luck!

 

[AndyS]

Update: I received the repaired flashlight back Saturday, and it's working great. I was not asked to pay anything. It was returned to me in a bubble envelope with no paperwork at all.

It has the same scratches as the one I sent in, so I know it was repaired, not replaced.

 

[Derek Dean]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear that your light is back in good working order. Enjoy~

 

[MKayze]

Before reading this thread I wanted a SC600W but after reading this thread, I'm not looking at the SC64W. But can't decide if I want the HI version or not.

 

[MKayze]

Before reading this thread I wanted a SC600W but after reading this thread, I'm not looking at the SC64W. But can't decide if I want the HI version or not.

After further reading, I think either the SC600W MK IV Plus or the SC600Fd.

Looking for something to replace my current D4. I love the D4 but it just heats up too fast and not a big fan of the 4000k tint that I got.