GALAXY (2)

Smith & Wesson Galaxy (2), retail $20.95 (www.powertechinc.com...)
Manufactured by PowerTech (www.powertechinc.com)
Last updated 03-07-07


Photograph of the Smith & Wesson Galaxy (2) flashlight was furnished by the person who sent the flashlight, and was used with his permission.


This is the new and improved Galaxy, made by PowerTech and sold by well-known gun maker Smith & Wesson.

It comes in an aluminum body, protected by a handsome jet-black Type II anodized finish. It has three bright white LEDs in its "business-end", protected by a robust plastic window (or "lens" if you prefer that term, even though it does not modify the light in any manner).

The Galaxy feeds from two included AA cells held in its barrel.


SIZE



The Galaxy comes in a weld-sealed blister pack, so you'll need to get a sharp knife or a pair of scissors to cut it out of the package. Slitting the plastic along the entire length of one side should do.

Once the light & batteries are out, install the batteries (below) and you're ready to go.

Press the small rubberized button on the barrel until it clicks and then release it once to turn the light on, press & release it again to turn it off.



To change the batteries, unscrew & remove the tailpiece and set it aside.

Dump the dead batteries out of the barrel and into the cat box - er - the garbage can or the battery reclamation box.

Slide two new AA cells, button (+) end first, into the barrel and screw the tailpiece back on. Fish the dead batteries out of the litterbox and dispose of or recycle them correctly.

Current usage measures 260.0mA on my DMM's 400mA scale.



The Galaxy is of all aluminimum construction. The finish appears to be a Type II anodizing. I was able to cut through it to bare metal with the blade of a Swiss army knife.

Would I really try to cut up a brand spanken new flashlight?
You bet your sugar-coated toilet muscle (sweet patootie) I would, if it's in the name of science.

The flashlight appears to be reasonably sturdy. Ordinary flashlight accidents should not be enough to do it in. I administered the smack test on it (ten whacks against the corner of a concrete stair; five whacks against the side of the tailcap and five whacks against the side of the bezel), and found the expected damage. There is some gouging to the bare Metalgreymon - er - the bare Metalgarurumon - um that's not it either...the bare Metalseadramon...er...uh...wait a sec here...THE BARE METAL (guess I've been watching too much Digimon again! ) on the sides of the tailcap and bezel where it was struck. No optical or electrical malfunctions were detected.

There is a band of knurling (crosshatch-shaped texturising) on the barrel, and what I believe are 11-sided shapes milled into the tailcap and bezel (head); these will aid in retention (the ability to hold onto the flashlight when your hands are cold, oily, or soaked with water, coffee, or pee). I do not forsee retention to be an issue here.

When the tailcap was removed, the flashlight was relieved of its batteries, and that dreadful suction test was performed, the flashlight held a vaccume (vacum, vaccuume, vaccumn, vaccuummnne, vacuum, etc.), so I believe it is both weather- and water-resistant. So you need not be concerned at all about using the Galaxy in rain or snow, and water landings will not kill it either.

There is an O-ring on the tailcap that engages with the barrel when the tailcap is screwed down, so I don't think the Galaxy will leak there either.

Let's try "The Toilet Test" and see what happens...BRB...ok, after submerging it for one minute in the cistern (toilet tank) in about a foot of water at 47°F (9.4°C) (to simulate a user dropping it into a creek), I dried the outside off with some buttwipe, unscrewed the tailcap, and examined the flashlight. No water was found in it.

The LEDs are surrounded by a small reflector and protected by a plastic window. The Galaxy's head does not come off, so if the window becomes fogged or ruined, you'll probably have to gouge it out with a knife and go without.

The light that comes from the Galaxy is a pure white, with no red, pink, yellow, blue, purple, or "rotten squid urine green" tint to it. Usually there's a bluish tint to the light emitted by 5mm white LEDs, but not in the 5mm white LEDs in the Galaxy.



Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Measures 66,700mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrometer plot of the white LEDs in this flashlight.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from TWO-CUBED.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent by J.P. of www.powertechinc.com and was received on the morning of 03-01-06.

Available LED colors are red, white, and blue.

Product was made in China. A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:
More than five times brighter than the original Galaxy
Water-resistant and even waterproof, unlike the original Galaxy
Uses batteries that are inexpensive and readily available


CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: PowerTech
    PRODUCT TYPE: Small handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 3
    BEAM TYPE: Wide spot with dim coroa
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on barrel
    CASE MATERIAL: Aluminum
    BEZEL: Metal; LEDs & reflector protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: 2xAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 260mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to shallow depths at minimum
    ACCESSORIES: 2xAA cells
    SIZE: 6"L 1"D
    WEIGHT: 4oz
    WARRANTY: Limited Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Galaxy (2) * www.powertechinc.com...






Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind? Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.

Please visit this web page for contact information.

Unsolicited flashlights appearing in the mail are welcome, and it will automatically be assumed that you sent it in order to have it tested and evaluated for this site.
Be sure to include contact info or your company website's URL so visitors here will know where to purchase your product.


WHITE 5500-6500K InGaN+phosphor 
ULTRAVIOLET 370-390nm GaN 
BLUE 430nm GaN+SiC
BLUE 450 and 473nm InGaN
BLUE Silicon Carbide
TURQUOISE 495-505nm InGaN
GREEN 525nm InGaN 
YELLOW-GREEN 555-575mn GaAsP & related
YELLOW 585-595nm
AMBER 595-605nm
ORANGE 605-620nm
ORANGISH-RED 620-635nm
RED 640-700nm
INFRARED 700-1300nm
True RGB Full Color LED
Spider (Pirrahna) LEDs
SMD LEDs
True violet (400-418nm) LEDs
Agilent Barracuda & Prometheus LEDs
Oddball & Miscellaneous LEDs
Programmable RGB LED modules / fixtures
Where to buy these LEDs 
Links to other LED-related websites
The World's First Virtual LED Museum
Legal horse puckey, etc.
RETURN TO OPENING/MAIN PAGE
LEDSaurus (on-site LED Mini Mart)



This page is a frame from a website.
If you arrived on this page through an outside link,you can get the "full meal deal" by clicking here.