Zebralight Custom Mode Groups—How Did You Set Yours Up?

I have a few ZL's, and the latest addition is the SC5c MKII with the customisable groups.

I have played with them quite a bit, but since I use my other Zebralights pretty frequently, I just use the regular G5 group. Has anyone found a programming setup that doesn't mess up your "human mode memory"? I get the occasional high upon early release of low mode, but not very often. I flipped the H for L on a group but then it seems to cycle backwards when you hold the button. (In fact, while it should be easier, everything about this seems backwards after a few years with the stock programming...)

Just curious to see how others are setting up their newer Zebralights...

Basically switched the Ls with the Hs so that:
1) A single click to moonlight modes
2) A press and hold for high modes
3) Extra benefit of double click for medium modes only having a pre-flash of moonlight as opposed to high so you don't notice it now

I set G6 up as a higher output mode set. Quick click to highest settings, double click to higher medium settings and long click for higher low settings.

G7 is set for all lower mode settings and lowest starts with quick click. Double click to low medium and long click for low high modes.

So G6 is all highet output and G7 is all lower output with high and low reversed.

Boy that sounds confusing, but in real world use its very intuitive.

I have EDIT: G6 set up for more outdoor levels and g7 for indoor nighttime stuff. Single click always to lowest mode and a double click from there to bump up a bit. Double clicks are set to higher outputs so Im not blinded by an accidental single click, have to be deliberate to double click for a higher output. The preflash or possibility of getting blasted with bright light when I want moon is what kept me away from Zebralight until this new UI. The .01 and 0.6 are awesome for middle of the night.

Intriguing! I hadn't really though to set up an "indoor" profile and "outdoor". I'm going to mess around with that for sure! Maybe a profile with very low modes on click and click and hold (original H and L groups set to very low) and middle M1 set to something, well, in the upper-middle, and M2 to something a bit higher than the H and L settings. That way if you leave it in L2, you get no preflash getting there with double click, but have some useable light beyond bedroom/house nav in M1 and M2.

noboneshotdog said:

I set G6 up as a higher output mode set. Quick click to highest settings, double click to higher medium settings and long click for higher low settings.

G7 is set for all lower mode settings and lowest starts with quick click. Double click to low medium and long click for low high modes.

So G6 is all highet output and G7 is all lower output with high and low reversed.

Boy that sounds confusing, but in real world use its very intuitive.

Click to expand...

Had I read your post before excitedly respsponding I could've just said,"I pretty much do what hot dog does." Lol

noboneshotdog said:

I set G6 up as a higher output mode set. Quick click to highest settings, double click to higher medium settings and long click for higher low settings.

G7 is set for all lower mode settings and lowest starts with quick click. Double click to low medium and long click for low high modes.

So G6 is all highet output and G7 is all lower output with high and low reversed.

Boy that sounds confusing, but in real world use its very intuitive.

Click to expand...

^^^^^
Hahahaha. You guys are awesome!

I never had a problem with the original UI, so I pretty left G6 as is. I only increased M1 a little on my SC600w IV HI so I'm set.

I pretty much never really need full blast, so I'm thinking about bringing down H1/H2 a bit, and rather use M1/M2 for the "need lots of light".

Part of the reasoning is that while it would deviate from the old UI, it's remain fairly compatible. Single click for a bunch of light, hold for low/moon, and the full blast is still there with a double click if I want to.

Even if I then fall back on habits, it's still click for lots and hold for low, doing roughly speaking the thing I wanted even if I mix usage of new and old style UI.

terjee said:

I pretty much never really need full blast, so I'm thinking about bringing down H1/H2 a bit, and rather use M1/M2 for the "need lots of light".

Part of the reasoning is that while it would deviate from the old UI, it's remain fairly compatible. Single click for a bunch of light, hold for low/moon, and the full blast is still there with a double click if I want to.

Even if I then fall back on habits, it's still click for lots and hold for low, doing roughly speaking the thing I wanted even if I mix usage of new and old style UI.

Click to expand...

I considered the H1 and H2 in the double click slot with the single click L1 and L2 and press and hold be the M1 and M2. Might try that tonight.

I did L1/L2 at press and hold, M1/M2 at single click, and H1/H2 at double click. I wanted it to be simple for when my wife uses it (i.e., just click it to turn on), and wanted getting to the Hi's to be a more deliberate action since I rarely need it. No rationale behind the hold for low other than that's what was left. I like it a lot this way, only complaint is I don't get a ramp up when I keep holding the button, since it now goes L -> H -> M -> L -> etc. Too bad we can't change that order.

Honestly this updated UI is the only reason I was able to convince myself to bite the bullet on a ZL.

I pondered this for quite a while, this is how I set up my SC600Fd IV Plus:

Available levels:
High: 1816 Lm (PID) or 1035 (PID) / 557 (PID) / 283
Medium: 135 Lm or 61 / 26 / 10.5
Low: 4.0 Lm or 1.4 / 0.5 / 0.15


My G7 "outside" mode has all of the 6 higher levels:

High: 1816 / 1035
Medium: 557 / 283
Low: 135 / 61

My G6 "inside" mode has all of the 6 lower levels:

High: 26 / 10.5
Medium: 4.0 / 1.4
Low: 0.5 / 0.15

This way the "logic" behind the ZebraLight levels stays intact (low->medium->high) but I have easy access to all 12 brightness levels if I need them.

...and my G5 mode is set to my personal preference:

High: 1816 / 1035
Medium: 135 / 26
Low: 4.0 / 0.15

benhar said:

I did L1/L2 at press and hold, M1/M2 at single click, and H1/H2 at double click. I wanted it to be simple for when my wife uses it (i.e., just click it to turn on), and wanted getting to the Hi's to be a more deliberate action since I rarely need it. No rationale behind the hold for low other than that's what was left. I like it a lot this way, only complaint is I don't get a ramp up when I keep holding the button, since it now goes L -> H -> M -> L -> etc. Too bad we can't change that order.

Honestly this updated UI is the only reason I was able to convince myself to bite the bullet on a ZL.

Click to expand...

Set mine up the exact same way. Single click is what any stranger would press to turn on the light, including my wife. Single click gets me to my most used mode, medium. No more pressing and holding or double clicking to get to the most used mode.

I'm going to set up my G6 like this. Thanks for all the thoughts all, I appreciated it!

I have been using L on click, H on hold, and M on double. I like it and it hasn't messed up my muscle memory too much for my other ZL's.

noboneshotdog said:

I set G6 up as a higher output mode set. Quick click to highest settings, double click to higher medium settings and long click for higher low settings.

G7 is set for all lower mode settings and lowest starts with quick click. Double click to low medium and long click for low high modes.

So G6 is all highet output and G7 is all lower output with high and low reversed.

Boy that sounds confusing, but in real world use its very intuitive.

Click to expand...

NPL said:

Set mine up the exact same way. Single click is what any stranger would press to turn on the light, including my wife. Single click gets me to my most used mode, medium. No more pressing and holding or double clicking to get to the most used mode.

Click to expand...

I'm the Scoutmaster of our BSA Troop. We go camping every month. 5 of those trips include backpacking here in the North GA mountains either on the Appalachian Trail or on climbing & rappelling trips. Because I'm secretly a flashaholic, I plan 3 of those trips to start on Friday after school which means we hike into the night!! My buddies & our boys have no idea that I just want to use my lights - HA! No one ever even asks, why don't we just leave out on Sat morning - ha HA!!

Anyway, I always bring a headlight - either my H600w Mk II or my H53w & mostly use medium. I also love to have a throwy handheld for seeing up the trail. So before my new SC600w Mk IV HI showed up this month I have been using the SC 600w Mk III HI without the new UI. I found myself programming it & reprogramming it on the fly because sometimes I wanted the 312 lumen setting & sometimes I wanted the 139 lumen setting for H2 to save my battery. The new UI fixes this problem of programming & reprogramming. Here's how I've set up the new SC600w Mk IV HI:

G5
High: 1400 & 502
Med: 127 & 56
Low: 2.9 & .26

G6
High: 1400 & 264
Med: same as above
Low: same as above

G7
High: 1400 & 127
Med: 56 & 22
Low: same as above

I LOVE this setup. I can quickly set the light how I want to run it. G5 is more of a battery hog, G6 is more conservative, and G7 is even more conservative & meant for extended use.

I really like leaving my handheld powered on & aimed up trail for everyone to see well (especially on our climbing trips where the trail is harder to see), so I usually leave my SC600w HI on one of the lower high settings. I like getting to that setting with just one click and then being able to double click to max. Great conversations have stirred up over this awesome light. The new UI means all I have to do is click either 5, 6, or 7 times from off to get to my preferred modes. In 3 weeks we have 23 of us going on a 20 miler on the Appalachian Trail over 2 days, and some of that will be at night I bet. Can't wait!!

When I get my H600Fc, I'll likely go with the following scheme:



I like that it is close to linear on a log4 scale. For non-math folks, this means that as you go higher each mode is about 4 times as many lumens. I've read and found from personal experience that human eyesight is logarithmic, and that 4 times as many lumens are needed for something to look twice as bright - especially at higher outputs. This is using ZL's current specs, and I have a feeling they will change a bit and I will probably adjust based on my preference - I already miss having 1 lumen available... I also don't have experience with their floody models so the difference in intensity (candela) will likely change my mind.

I prefer this format for the following reasons:
-Single click to low to avoid blinding. It just makes sense to me that the natural click once starts dim
-Press and hold a single click a bit longer for medium output. Also gives quick access from low or high.
-Click CLICK FOR MASSIVE LUMENS! Also the least used and hardest mode to access if I'm going to hand my light over to someone.

My H53c looks like this:



Once I get my H600Fc and start using it for camping and hiking I'll be using the H53c for EDC only and will be less chintzy with battery life so M1 and M2 will probably be bumped up to 106 and 285 for a better spread.

likethevegetable said:

I like that it is close to linear on a log4 scale. For non-math folks, this means that as you go higher each mode is about 4 times as many lumens. I've read and found from personal experience that human eyesight is logarithmic, and that 4 times as many lumens are needed for something to look twice as bright - especially at higher outputs.

Click to expand...

This was very good inspiration for choosing the levels for my H53Fc.
What I did was set the lowest available lumen as the value for 1 and the highest available lumen as the value for 6.
Then I made a straight line in a log4 scale between the two points, and chose the levels closest to the line as values for 2 to 5.



The resulting levels are pretty close to the line, and I really like the distribution of levels.

The lumen values are as follows:

I know it might seem like a lot of very low lumen values but I think it works great, but I am also a big fan of the sub lumen levels in the H53Fc.

I did however choose to maintain the standard logic for the levels, even though i can recognise the reasons you had for changing it around.

Zebralight SC600w HI IV

Long click: L1 2.9lm / 0.07lm
Single click: M1 127lm / 22.9lm
Double click: H1 1400lm / 875lm (measured 1000 / 650lm real lumens)



Zebralight H53w

Long click: 4lm / 0.07lm
Single click: 122lm / 30lm
Double click: 330lm / 275lm (measured 270 / 220 real lumens)

First off, I want to thank CandlePowerForums. This seems like such a great community. I haven't owned a flashlight, other than my phone for probably 30 years. With today's technology, power can come in small packages to make a carry light easier and possible. I purchased the Zebralight SC 700 and love it.

It it took several hours to get a handle on programming, but once it all sunk in, here are my settings:

G5;
factory settings

G6:
H:
52/192
M:
583/945
L:
1458/3000

G7:
H:
.04/.12
M:
.32/2.1
H:
11.6/25.2

Myself, like some others here, didn't like having 1 click to H1 at the highest setting, in case someone else picked up the flashlight

Thanks for all the informative information from you all.

benhar said:

I did L1/L2 at press and hold, M1/M2 at single click, and H1/H2 at double click. I wanted it to be simple for when my wife uses it (i.e., just click it to turn on), and wanted getting to the Hi's to be a more deliberate action since I rarely need it. No rationale behind the hold for low other than that's what was left. I like it a lot this way, only complaint is I don't get a ramp up when I keep holding the button, since it now goes L -> H -> M -> L -> etc. Too bad we can't change that order.

Honestly this updated UI is the only reason I was able to convince myself to bite the bullet on a ZL.

Click to expand...

This is exactly how I have mine set up. A "normal" bright light at one click was my goal. I also wanted moonlight accessable without the bright flash first.

I don't use the press and hold because it no longer ramps up from low to high. It would be nice if they made that so changing mode groups doesn't change it.