Mega 4Bank System

The first thing to note about the Mega 4Bank System is that it consists of four components: Mega 4Bank Fixture
(fig. 1), Mounting Plate (fig. 2), Ballast (fig. 3) and Extension Cable (fig. 4). It was designed in this manner to allow the greatest flexibility when working on film production where the gaffer and DP are constantly being challenged to light unique locations and problem solve at a moments notice.

Sometimes size does matter, so Kino Flo introduced a larger version of its popular 2ft and 4ft Select 4Bank lighting systems. The new line is called "Mega", as opposed to "Select", and uses 6ft and 8ft T-12 bi-pin Lamps. The Mega series gives broader coverage to large areas, especially when using silks, backlighting photographic panels or building soft boxes to light automobiles or other large objects.

Even though it is a large source, the Mega 4Bank 8ft system only draws 7 Amps at 120vac and can plug into any
wall socket on location. With its narrow profile, the Mega 4Bank can approximate the quality of light from bounced sources and a tremendous amount of "wrap".

Red Yellow Black Blue

The Harness wiring is color-coded. The same color-code must match at each end of the lamp for proper operation.

Fixture can be used in several configurations:

1) Complete fixture with all components combined
2) "Harness Only" - The wiring harness is removed from the fixture so that user can build a softbox,
    hide behind Plexiglass or rig into tight locations. The wiring harness uses Kino Flo designed lamp connectors
    that grab the lamp pins so lamps can be operated independently of the fixture.
3) "Harness + Reflector" - Same as above - but may want to use the reflector to give more punch and direction
    to the light.
4) Can use Louver to give direction to the light or remove louver to give broad coverage over an area - such as     lighting over a car, motorcycle or other large objects.

The fixtures can take a variety of lamps. They can be used as a daylight source by using Kino Flo KF55 lamps or
a tungsten source using Kino Flo KF32 or KF29 lamps. A variety of visual effects for blue and green screen as well
as designer colors are available.

Kino Flo lamps are color correct and safety-sleeved. The lamps are safety sleeved because they can operate inside the fixture or independently with only the wiring harness. Additionally, on a production set the lamps are often changed out. The safety-sleeving offers protection during lamp changes for the user as well as the talent on the set.

    4Bank BatWing
       (BAT-W4)

             MTP-K81                                    
           

                                                      Mega 4Bank Ballast (Controls View)

There is no delay when switching lamps: the ballast operates the lights on/off instantly. There is also a special
Select switch designated as HO/Std (High-Output/Standard Output) to raise or drop the wattage in the tubes
for light output and color control. Keeping the ballast remote from the fixture and lamps makes the controls more accessible to lighting crews who might need to rig the fixtures into set designs or high up in a lighting grid, but
switch them easily from a convenient location on the stage floor.

Our new Mega Dmx ballasts can be run manually like the standard Mega 4Bank ballasts, or via a separate Dmx control board. Notice we haven't used the word "dimming" to describe lighting control. The reason is that dimming changes a lamp's color temperature and color balance. The Mega 4Bank ballast has individual switches so that each lamp can be turned on/off. Additionally, the lamps can be operated in a high output/standard output mode. This combination controls light levels without the color shift issues you have with dimming.

                               Mega 4Bank Dmx Ballast (Controls View)

The Kino Flo Mega 4Bank ballast accomplishes all this and still out-performs tungsten lighting instruments 10 to 1 when it comes to energy efficiency. In other words, the Mega 4Bank ballast uses 1/10th as much power to produce the same amount of soft light as incandescents. The Mega 4Bank ballast works reliably under most normal conditions, but it's also trustworthy in more harsh conditions, such as extreme cold: The Mega ballast series is designed to operate at temperatures from 14F to 122F (-10C to +50C).

In extremely cold temperatures, the ballast may not strike the lamp(s) initially because the lamp may need to
warm up. Switch the ballast to Off, wait seven seconds and try again. If the ballast does not strike after two
or three attempts, turn off the ballast, check that the extension and harness connections are secure and re-strike. Once operating for a few minutes, the lamps should re-strike instantly.

     
  
                X19-25M                                    X19-A9M                                  X19-A7M

Up to 75 feet (3 x 25ft) of extension cable can be used between the fixture and the ballast. The Mega 4Bank,
Mega Double & Mega Single family are electrically compatible. A splitter can be used at the Ballast or on the end
of an extension cable to split a Mega 4Bank ballast into either four Mega Single or two Mega Double fixtures.
This allows for a lot of rigging flexibility.

Traditionally 6ft and 8ft High Output lamps come with a Recessed Double Cathode. In order to use the 6ft and 8ft lamps with Kino Flo's Locking Lamp Connector, Kino Flo's lamps have a standard bi-pin configuration. If the lamps
are to be used for swapping out existing fixtures on location, a removable adapater can be used.

           EXP-RDC

A discussion of the various lamps available for use in the Mega 4Bank System in the Lamp Section provides more
information on the types of lamps available from Kino Flo. It's important to know that the True Match daylight
and tungsten 6ft tubes and 8ft tubes common on sets around the world are unique to Kino Flo because they
display broad, even color correct light that cinematographers have come to depend on. These are the only high color rendering fluorescent lamps made for the professional film and video production.

All True Match lamps used in the Mega 4Bank fixture are available Safety-coated. Safety coating protects the user from broken glass if the tube breaks. The lamps can operate independent of the fixture allowing them to be built into sets or custom soft boxes or hand held.