[MOD] Zebralight SC64c emitter swaps

[Bob_McBob]

Nichia 219B R9080 sw45k

505 lumens of rosy R9080 goodness at turn-on, with a fairly tight beam. I think some people might prefer it with DC-fix or a floody 15 degree optic. I have some issues with beaded optics because they tend to project the shape of the LED package when the dome is too small.

[goshdogit]

Gorgeous! :heart_eyes:

[Bob_McBob]

sw45k tint vs. stock (different distance to the wall so ignore the beam profile)

This is an SC600w III HI at the same output and distance as the sw45k shot to get a feel for how throwy it is.

I think my personal preference for this light is to diffuse the beam, which really makes the sw45k shine. This is a 15 degree frosted optic, which lowers output to about 430 lumens. The other options are either etching the back of the stock lens or supplying some D-C fix, which would probably both have a similar output loss.

[Gunga]

So where do I sign up for one of these!

[Bob_McBob]

I’ve been convinced to build a few of these so I will keep you updated

[CRX]

Nice work :+1:

[richnpc]

How could I miss this thread, subscribed, and watching for further updates. I may be interested too.

[Bob_McBob]

Here’s a big batch of beamshots with various configurations at reasonably similar outputs. My personal preference is for the d-c fix because it isn’t too floody and maintains reasonable output and throw. With clear glass I measure 505 lumens and 5135 cd at turn-on, or 143.3m throw. With d-c fix it drops to 465 lumens and 2745 cd, or 104.8m throw. I also have some OEM frosted glass on the way to try, which I suspect will be somewhere between the frosted optic and d-c fix.

SC63w control shot:

LH351D:

219B w/clear glass (505 lumens):

219B w/d-c fix (465 lumens):

219B w/15 degree frosted optic (440 lumens):

219B w/frosted glass (465 lumens):

[clemence]

Now you must ask for credit to ZL since they’re annoucing the LH351 version! Only saw this via our whatsapp chat, thought you haven’t post it here. I like the TIR optics for it’s many options. Don’t close the bezel yet. You better make another sacrificial bezel from PEEK or any hard strong plastic for future lens change (I know you WILL do it soon).

Great job dude.

- Clemence

[Bob_McBob]

@clemence

Great job dude.

Thank you, that means a lot coming from you :student:

[Bob_McBob]

@Gunga

So where do I sign up for one of these!

I just posted a small number of these for sale

Zebralight SC64c LE w/High CRI Nichia 219B R9080 $150

I’m offering for sale the Zebralight SC64c LE with a Nichia 219B R9080 for $150 USD plus shipping. I first posted about this mod back in September 2018, and I’ve since completed well over a hundred lights. I have Nichia 219B R9080 in sw30, sw35, sw40, and sw45k, and a nice FA3 bin of SST-20 in 4000K. I can also install any compatible 3V LED with XP style pads that can be sourced, so if you happen to want a different CCT we can almost certainly arrange something. [image] [image] H1 output with…

[SKV89]

@JaredM

Hey, Bob. Thanks for the tip on sourcing a nice 35HI. That 80CRI 4500k sounds great to me, considering it’s Cree we’re talking about. Ideally, I go for 5B/5A or 3A/3D. Haven’t had great luck with 4Cs, and never saw a 4A/4D from Cree - ever. If you say that it’s decent though, I’ll give it a try. The HI plus beaded TIR should result in similar throw (which isn’t much) with negligible tint shift. Optics choices are plenty though, so there’d be experimentation…

(Day dreaming) A quad e21a sure would be a sweet setup in these though…

Do we know the tint of these Hi CRI xhp35 Hi? Where do we buy A and D tinted NW XHP35HI emitters?

[zak.wilson (Zak)]

80 CRI XHP35 HIs are usually Easywhite (MacAdam ellipse step bins). The 45E bins from Arrow look quite neutral; I put that emitter in almost every XHP35 light that comes my way, and I think it’s the one ZL uses for their HI models.

[SYZYGY]

hi, Bob. i was wondering if you could please share a pic of your modified carving wedge or whatever bezel-removal tool you're using now. i'm curious about what it looks like and how wide it is.

i tried with a razor blade, but it's too weak and brittle. i'm considering grinding down a lock pick or a lock tension wrench because of the metal used (spring steel: fairly tough and seemingly not brittle).

i'm trying to get a sc700d open. will post pics if i manage to do it. :)

thanks!

[Scallywag]

@SYZYGY

hi, Bob. i was wondering if you could please share a pic of your modified carving wedge or whatever bezel-removal tool you’re using now. i’m curious about what it looks like and how wide it is.

i tried with a razor blade, but it’s too weak and brittle. i’m considering grinding down a lock pick or a lock tension wrench because of the metal used (spring steel: fairly tough and seemingly not brittle).

i’m trying to get a sc700d open. will post pics if i manage to do it.

thanks!

Almost makes you want a J-shaped blade custom-sized to fit the bezel
I’m reminded of the hook-shaped blade on my grandfather’s knife - I was told it was to cut parachute lines easily.

[SYZYGY]

ok, i ground down the handle end of a lockpick stamped from a single sheet (0.5mm spring steel).

my initial impression is the sc700 is probably more annoying to open than sc64. i'm able to slip my tool much deeper under the sc64 bezel, and it's much easier going. i didn't actually try to open up my sc64 since that's not my goal, but i think i could probably do it with the tool i made.

i tried to get the sc700 open, but i don't know if i actually made any progress. i might've lifted the bezel a little, but it's probably my imagination.

i wonder if the sc700 bezel tolerances are different, or if the oring is compressed more. or if the oring sits in a deeper retention channel, and the bezel is basically sitting right on a metal lip. maybe they wanted a positive stop for sc700 assembly.

i guess i could try pressing the glass in a vise or something in case the oring will give a little. will update if i learn anything else.

edit: this is a stubborn SOB. obviously breaking the glass to get into the light is admitting failure. i'm not there yet.

i think what i may do is use a pin vise to drill a small hole into the face of the bezel. that would give me a spot to insert a dental pick or something as a pry tool to lift up and get one spot started. with one spot lifted up a little, maybe then i could work the other tool around like how bob was doing it.

[Bob_McBob]

Sorry, I wasn’t subscribed to the thread so I didn’t receive notifications for new replies. Zebralight uses two styles of bezel. The SC64, H600, and SC53 series have the easy to open bezel, but the SC600, SC700, etc. require more effort because the bezel has no lip underneath.

For those lights, the tool need to be thin at the tip, but solid enough you can actually press down on the o-ring and force it under the edge of the bezel. It can also be helpful to gently tap it under, but you have to be careful about the angle and amount of force because it’s easy to break the edge of the lens. Wood carving tool kits with a tool of the style shown in moridin’s thread here are readily available on Amazon, but they typically need further grinding to refine and maintain the shape. You can also try something like a very thinly ground flat screwdriver, but it usually leaves more obvious cosmetic marks like the bezel shown in the photo above.

Zebralight SC600 MkIII Emitter Swap

My zebra had a quite bad tint from the beginning and today i finally had some time to change the LED. I also went from XHP35-HD to XHP35-HI to see how i like the little light with a bit more throw. [image] The most difficult part was to remove the press fitted bezel without breaking the glass. Fortunatelly that went really well: [image] On the first picture you can see a little solder on the screws, but that had little effect and the screws came out very easy. The next part was to remove th…

What LED are you planning to put in the SC700d?

[SYZYGY]

thanks, bob. not an emitter swap but rather a host swap (or mod). zebralight thrower :)

i thought the tool i ground was pretty thin, and i even had a friend press quite hard into the lens next to the tool with the handle-end of a ball-point pen for extra oring compression pressure (the gorilla glass can seemingly take a decent amount of abuse). i'll try grinding a carving tool though. maybe mine was just too weak/flimsy to lift the bezel ring.

[JaredM]

I’m curious how well thermal techniques could work. A small butane torch and a can of CO2 duster. Heat the aluminum body, then hit the lens/SS bezel with the cryo blast, maybe enough temperature differential could happen to shrink the ring and have it easily pry out. Maybe even keeping an ice cube on the lens while heating the head could help?

I’d try it myself but my ZL was stolen last year

[Scallywag]

@JaredM

I’m curious how well thermal techniques could work. A small butane torch and a can of CO2 duster. Heat the aluminum body, then hit the lens/SS bezel with the cryo blast, maybe enough temperature differential could happen to shrink the ring and have it easily pry out. Maybe even keeping an ice cube on the lens while heating the head could help?

I’d try it myself but my ZL was stolen last year

Thermal stress on glass concerns me.