#ngal

currently mad that Unity discontinued the Hot Button for the shitty AXON series switches

give us the funny metal pushbuttons back, cowards

probably gonna end up buying a bunch of the Chinese bootleg ones and see how they hold up - the finish doesn't look any worse than the real ones and the textured button is a nice touch (pun intended)

Above: EvolutionGear (left) vs Somogear (right LA23 plug copies.

The main reason the Somo modbuttons don't work in an IS-EG NGAL is the length of the plug; the contacts are positioned the same distance, but the Somo plug is just a hair shorter at the base.

This prevents the port from fully gripping the grooved ring toward the base of the plug.

The solution to this was actually incredibly simple and intuitive - on the back of the Somo modbutton, there are 4 tiny Phillips head screws that let you pull off the back of the unit and access the switch guts inside.

A quick de-solder and figuring out the polarity of the cables, it was stupidly easy to splice in the EG cable and get this thing up and running the way I intended:

Pleasing little sci-fi greeblies

Managed to pick up another Somogear Modbutton in a trade, this time with an LA23 plug for the IS-EG NGAL, so enjoy some cable management porn for today

Now for the bad news - The Somogear LA23 plugs don't play well with the ports on an EvolutionGear NGAL

They function, but the slightest nudge will make it lose contact, meaning it's basically useless.

I might end up splicing in the LA23 plug that came with the EG pressure pad, as that one's a much better fit, but I'll continue trying other solutions in the meantime.

EvolutionGear IS-EG NGAL Laser Aiming Module

For those of you that shake your fist to the heavens cursing L3Harris for not releasing a civilian version of their famed NGAL, you're probably at least tangentially familiar with EvolutionGear -

They do the OEM parts manufacturing for InvisibleSight, who offers a higher quality level of QC, but is infamous for their astonishingly long lead times.

EvolutionGear sells the 'cheaper' version of the IS-EG NGAL which you can buy direct from them if you wanna bypass the year-long inspection wait and don't need all the different options offered through InvisibleSight.

Before I get into the details of the unit itself, I'd like to clear up a lot of myths about EG - the common consensus about them is that they're known for not shipping their items, but from my own research, I really could only find an evidence case of one from a dude who was dumb enough to order during Chinese New Year and threw a tantrum when it took longer than expected to receive a tracking.

I opted for the more expensive UPS shipping option, and while it was kinda awkward having to wait for a live representative to email me a paypal invoice rather than going though a site-based payment portal, I didn't have any issues ordering from them and everything arrived within a week of receiving a tracking.

Here's where I'll get into the initial impressions.

The body of the unit is forged 6061 aluminum, and unlike the Somogear NGAL's, these actually have recoil lugs integrated into the body with a proper L3Harris-style screw clamp, as opposed to the crappy PEQ15 clamp the Somo units have.

The selector switch, I find somewhat mushy (due to the integral o-ring added for waterproofing), but still tactile enough to satisfy me, and the button has a positive enough click for my needs as well. The rear focus knob for the IR illuminator is a little bit stiff, but no major red flags about it.

Another nice feature of the EG NGAL is the fact it includes actual diffuser caps whereas the Somo units are only provided with blackout covers. The visible potting of the unit seems very well-done and I'm definitely excited to see how well this holds up considering EG touts this as a 5.56-capable laser where Somogear continues to scream "airsoft only" from the rooftops.

The unit included two different sets of stickers (one laminated, one not, interestingly) as well as a pressure pad and an eggcrate-padded plastic storage case.

The pressure pad is where I'm going to focus a majority of my initial critique.

On the website, EvolutionGear claims they offer the option of an LA23 Plug or an ATPIAL Crane Plug version. I triple checked that I'd be receiving a crane-ported NGAL, and the customer service acknowledged this.

The switch they provided is an LA23 version and upon testing the port with a surplus Insight PEQ-2 Pressure Pad, there was no function from the laser, meaning my request was completely disregarded and I'd been given an LA23-ported version instead.

Not a humongous deal to me, but it would have been nice to have a wider choice of aftermarket switches instead of proprietary ones that cost 100-300 fucking dollars.

Anywho, the switch they include is what I'd describe as solidly "meh" - it feels like a very cheap silicone, the click is positive enough, but the cable is visibly hot glued in and it's just left me wishing that Somogear offered their fantastic Modbutton Lite knock-offs a la carte.

Might email them later to see if I can get one.

The build it resides on presently is my FDE A2 Retromod, and despite being an offset beam unit, I still find the lasers are just a little too close to a standard FSB for my comfort.

I plan on possibly doing a URG-I build out of my Colt LE6920 in the near future, so this is definitely not the build the EG NGAL is staying on forever.

Acute kidney injury (AKI), previously known as acute renal failure, represents a medical emergency and encompasses a wide range of damage to the kidneys

(AKI) occurs when kidney function rapidly deteriorates, leading to an inability to maintain fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base balance. It contributes to increased morbidity and mortality. The severity of AKI results in significant healthcare costs. Consequently, there is a heightened focus on identifying new biomarkers for AKI. Detecting AKI earlier would ultimately preserve lives, improve patients' quality of life globally, and reduce healthcare system expenses.

Rapid and Reliable Kidney Injury Assessment: Introducing the InstaNGAL® Test Kit

InstaNGAL®, developed by QAWaCh Bio Pvt. Ltd., is an innovative early detection test for acute kidney injury (AKI), based on estimation of urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-associated Lipocalin (uNGAL) in human urine using a unique semi-quantitative and quantitative lateral flow assay platform. InstaNGAL® is a bed-side test that is intended for early diagnosis of AKI, based on levels of NGAL in human urine.

This novel test kit is based on QAWaCh Bio’s novel patented technology ‘Q-Plat’, that uses combination of a lateral flow assay-based test card and smartphone