suggestions for a baby-proof amp stand?

[jtsjf]

Hi all,
I am looking for help finding for a cabinet/rack/something to put my stereo on-I have a 5 month old daughter who is threatening to learn to crawl, and no protection from my tube stereo- an EL34 PP, bottlehead foreplay, seduction...all have way too much heat and voltage. Anyone have an suggestions? FWIW, all the switches are on the backs of the pieces.
Thanks,
Jason

[cosmicdust]

Hi Jason,

A fire-place screen should work fine. Get a sturdy one; possible even 2.

Thanks :-)
cosmicdust.

[Byrdsmaniac]

It depends how inquisitive or attracted to your gear your child is. When my daughter was still a baby I tacked up black cloth over my open record cabinets like a curtain. Ordinarily hundreds of lps are like a magnet for little kids, but because they were out of sight and the curtains were just boring black, neither she nor her friends ever even went close to the lp shelves.

[Glen B]

Hi all,
I am looking for help finding for a cabinet/rack/something to put my stereo on-I have a 5 month old daughter who is threatening to learn to crawl, and no protection from my tube stereo- an EL34 PP, bottlehead foreplay, seduction...all have way too much heat and voltage. Anyone have an suggestions? FWIW, all the switches are on the backs of the pieces.
Thanks,
Jason

I have a sticky-fingered 4-year old grandson in the home. I've had to lock down everything. My suggestion may be a bit expensive but the furniture is strong, attractive, fully adjustable and configurable. I house my components in a six-shelf Salamander Synergy rack with optional door and lock. The door comes in a choice of frosted glass or perforated metal. The door hinges have a quick-release that allows it to be removed at re-attached in seconds.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/mfglisting.asp?hdnMfg=Salamander+Designs&MFGID=107

[jtsjf]

Wow, you folks are fast...and good.
We were thinking about putting cloth around the LP's. That make sense, and we had kind of the same idea. I figured on putting elastic and hooks at the ends for easy access.
Glenn, I did not know this until you posted a picture...but I have a Salamander/Synergy rack already (a small one). We bought it a long time ago. Shoot- I'll just buy the door and some sides for it and be done. I had no idea they made sides and fronts. Thanks so much for posting that picture! :banana: I owe you'll a beer or two- stop by the house to collect! :thmbsp:

[Glen B]

Glenn, I did not know this until you posted a picture...but I have a Salamander/Synergy rack already (a small one). We bought it a long time ago. Shoot- I'll just buy the door and some sides for it and be done. I had no idea they made sides and fronts. Thanks so much for posting that picture! :banana: I owe you'll a beer or two- stop by the house to collect! :thmbsp:

Great. Glad I could help.

[Paul C]

When they get a little bigger they will try to climb things... and have been known to pull racks and bookshelves over on them. So make sure you have racks and shelves anchord or tied to the wall in some way to prevent this.

And from experience, keep grills on your speakers at all times. Preferably ones they can't see through. Kids will get pencils and such and poke holes in woofers and punch in tweeters. Just so you know.

They love to push buttons, turn knobs. One of my daughters would go over to my speakers, stand there, and turn the L-pads on the back while looking me straight in the eye, just to get a rise out of me. I got in the habit of checking the L-pads and various pots and switches every time I turned on my gear.

Keep turntables up well out of reach. You might think of substituting a cheap cartridge for a few years, or removing it when not in use. They will break stylii faster than you can buy them.

They will do things you never imagined.

[soundmotor]

Hi all,
I am looking for help finding for a cabinet/rack/something to put my stereo on-I have a 5 month old daughter who is threatening to learn to crawl, and no protection from my tube stereo- an EL34 PP, bottlehead foreplay, seduction...all have way too much heat and voltage. Anyone have an suggestions? FWIW, all the switches are on the backs of the pieces.
Thanks,
Jason

I took my tube gear out of service until they were old enough to understand fear.

[cosmicdust]

Hiya Paul C,

That was funny what you said about your daughter; turning the L Pads. The baby is the King of the house. We live around it's rules; and can never make it live ours!

A baby; while resting in your arms, can play you like a puppet on strings!

Hehehheheh :-)))

Thank you :-)
cosmicdust.

[goldear]

My solution for our kids: A locked listening room for all my really good equipment.

For the video system, I got some short enclosed computer racks, and installed shelvs inside them for my AV setup. This approach has successfully saved the video system from harm for 7 years now. :thmbsp:

[Paul C]

One day I came in and my wife told me the VCR had quit working, a tape jammed in it. I removed the cover only to find it was FULL of T-pins. These are pins about 2" long with a T shaped end used by R/C modelers to hold balsa pieces together while glue dries. The same daughter, little Miss L-pad (not the one that was recently so helpful in installing my new FM antenna, just to set the record straight), had gotten a whole package of T-pins out of the hobby room and pushed them into the door of the VCR one at a time.

Strangely, it worked just fine after getting all those pins out. Shortly after this there was that famous commercial where a child had plugged a grilled cheese sandwich into the VCR. (Shudders!)

My point is, expect the unexpected.

After the 4th broken stylus I packed away the turntable for a few years. Later I took it back out and put it on top of a new entertainment center. And purchased a newer, better cartridge. It was some years before the kids could see what was up there and it remained unmolested thereafter.

One day younger daughter (antenna helper) was dusting. "Dad, what is this thing up here?"

"What thing?"

"This thing."

"Oh, that's a turntable."

"What's it for?"

"Playing records."

"Records?"

I opened the cabinet she never fooled around in, showed her some LP's.

I explained how there is a groove in the record, the needle picks up the vibrations, a magnetic arm wiggles between some coils, produces the musical signal... etc.

She said, "You've GOT to be kidding!"

Her older brother, walking by on one of his many trips from bedroom to kitchen answered, "That's the crude analog precursor to the CD."

Now I know how Dad felt when we used to kid him about "those old-fashioned 78's".

[jtsjf]

Good suggestions all- Hopefully we'll move within a year, so I can set up a better layout. I like the locked room idea, but who knows if that will be feasible.
Anyway- I appreciate your collective wisdom.

[Billfort]

I will certainly be 'expecting the unexpected' with my 8-month old as she grows so I will be doing exactly as Goldear suggested and fitting the listening room door with a lock.

I shudder to think what might happen with curious little hands around my tube stuff that is close to or on the floor and putting it up on a sturdy stand wouldn't be enough for me. The danger of injury alone is enough to make sure I only let my daughter in there when accompanied by an adult but there are also items like a very finicky turntable on a 3-point stand, lp's, record cleaning fluids, expensive tubes, DIY amps and such in partial states of assembly, etc. that just aren't play things.

Andrea already enjoys spending time in the listening room (listening) but she won't be allowed in there without me watching her very closely.

[Tonedeaf]

I have one word for children and prized audio gear.

VASECTOMY. :D

[cosmicdust]

Hi Tonedeaf,

Children are agents of harmony. They create the family environment. They put a smile on your face when you really need it. They put courage back in you when you think all else is lost.

Thank you :-)
cosmicdust.

[Tonedeaf]

Hi Tonedeaf,

Children are agents of harmony. They create the family environment. They put a smile on your face when you really need it. They put courage back in you when you think all else is lost.

Thank you :-)
cosmicdust.

Most certainly! :yes:

And as Paul C stated above, they do like to turn dials and push buttons. My daughter is 13 and pushing my bottons...

and she still likes to turn dials...but now all the way to 11!

Wouldn't trade it for the world. :thmbsp:

[Mark W.]

My son came out to my work shop at age 18 months (for the whole time his mother worked during the day unsally around 8 hoiurs. I made hand made knives for a living in that shop. Think 2 hp motors, V belts, coal fired forges, milling machines, Belt grinders moving at 8000 fpm, mapp gas torches, chrome molybendium dust, really really hot metal, and more sharp things then you can possibbly imagine.

And yet with careful education and some practical demonstrations like the time we took a wood dowel the same size as his finger and put it into a V belt drive pulley and blew it part right in front of him so he would know what happened if he ever put his finger in something like that. OH boy did that work for weeks anytime some one came in the shop he would point to the V belt on my knife grinder and tell them never put your finger in that.

By age five this kid was lecturing adults who made the mistake of dry fireing a handgun at a gun show with out properly checking the chamber. At age five he was already shooting my hand guns (with direct supervison)

Treat them like they are a real person and if your genetics gave them any brains and you interact with your kids they will be basically miniture adults in most regaurds.

My son is now at 21 a Spec 4 Electronic Tech on board the USS Chancellorsville CG-62 a Guided missile Cruiser Home Port Tokyo Japan,. Something he did on his own with support and guidance from his parents. He maintains the Ships Radar systems.

OH and the hot lesson that was solved by a bowl of very hot chile he reached up and pulled down onhis hand at 2 he never went never the wood stove once he had a real understanding of HOT.

[Billfort]

Well, there will be no 400v tube amp version of finger size dowels blowing up in v-belts at my place Mark.

I want my daughter to enjoy music on my system but also to learn to respect the equipment and that will happen with a little guidance from me when I'm around - hence the lock on the door.

[Mark W.]

My dad locked everything up and by the time we were 11-13 the hinges on the gun cabinet had been removed so many times I had to put toothpicks in it to hold the door on. The door to his office had been slipped so many times the bolt was so chewed up it would hadly shut with out turning the knob to pull the bolt in first.
Dad spanked the shit out of us 3 boys for everything we did and yet we still did it. I on the other hand educated my son about everything and never had a single reason to worry. He was one of the best behaved kids anyone who meet him had ever meet they told me all the time. I treated him like someone with a brain needing to be filled up properly.

And it worked. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to raise or educate their kids NOT MY JOB I'm only telling what worked extremely well for us.

[jtsjf]

Mark, I do motocyclist/machining for a hobby and I'm a chemist/teacher for my real job; safety is always on my mind and I'm keen on educating my daughter rather than being punitive. I appreciate your anectode about your son- you should be proud of what a good job you've done with him. I am really looking forward to the time when I can start teaching Catalina about machining (and science!). I know machining and electronics are not 'girl' hobbies, but this is her family and she's stuck with it. She's 5 months now, and not even mobile yet, but she will be soon and it's the time before Cat is old enough to understand 'hot' that I'm worried about. Her mom (she who must be obeyed) worries about everything, so I feel obliged to work with her in this as well. After all, she puts up with me. As far as the lovely daughter goes- yep, she brings harmony and balance to us. Nothing like a big ol' toothless grin to set your priorities straight.

[Billfort]

Nothing like a big ol' toothless grin to set your priorities straight.Absolutely, and it sure is cool the first time you get one of those while listening to music with your daughter!

[Glen B]

My dad locked everything up and by the time we were 1-13 the hinges on the gun cabinet had been removed so many times I had to put toothpicks in it to hold the door on. The door to his office had been slipped so many times the bolt was so chewed up it would hadly shut with out turning the knob to pull the bolt in first.
Dad spanked the shit out of us 3 boys for everything we did and yet we still did it. I on the other hand educated my son about everything and never had a single reason to worry. He was one of the best behaved kids anyone who meet him had ever meet they told me all the time. I treated him like someone with a brain needing to be filled up properly.

And it worked. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to raise or educate their kids NOT MY JOB I'm only telling what worked extremely well for us.

I've been trying to "educate" my 4-year old grandson. I've recorded some episodes of his favorite shows, especially Blues Clues on DVD-R and showed him how to load/unload the disk himself. He is also learning to use the cable remote to search the menu for free children's educational programs, select and view what he wants. He is beginning to understand that if he breaks the DVD player, cable box, remote control, etc., he will not be able to see his favorite shows. Prior to that he was throwing the remote, broke the trays on two DVD players, was removing the system card from the digital cable boxes, etc. So far his behavior has been improving. Still, until I am satisfied that he is completely past the destructive stage, my expensive components will remain under lockdown.

[BuckNaked]

I am really surprised nobody suggested this before.
High voltage electrified fence.
Kids learn quick.
Worked for me after 3 or 4 tries.

:nono: :eek: :yikes:

[cosmicdust]

Hiya Buck,

Maybe 1 AA battery operated stringy thing that you can fence the area off; giving small tingles that sets off giggles in the little ones, when touched! But children are so darling, you can hardly intentionally or even unintentionally hurt :-))

Maybe we should do like the Asian mothers; I have seen, always carrying their babies in back-packs while they go about their daily chores!

Thank you :-)
cosmicdust.

[Grainger49]

Seriously, I didn't read all the other posts, but, you can use a cabinet with doors on it to keep inquiring minds/hands/etc. away.

Not audiophool approved, but it works. Ask me how I know.

[Rybeam]

Try super gluing their fingers to their forehead. The little one will fall over looking at their hands and do a Curley Joe on the floor, until they fall asleep.

[goldear]

My dad locked everything up and by the time we were 11-13 the hinges on the gun cabinet had been removed so many times I had to put toothpicks in it to hold the door on. The door to his office had been slipped so many times the bolt was so chewed up it would hadly shut with out turning the knob to pull the bolt in first.
Dad spanked the shit out of us 3 boys for everything we did and yet we still did it. I on the other hand educated my son about everything and never had a single reason to worry. He was one of the best behaved kids anyone who meet him had ever meet they told me all the time. I treated him like someone with a brain needing to be filled up properly.

And it worked. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to raise or educate their kids NOT MY JOB I'm only telling what worked extremely well for us.
My oldest son (7 years) is is quite competent at operating our video system. I teach my kids respect too. But this simply doesn't work under the age of about 5 in my experience.

I realize that as my kids get older, that they will be able to find thier way into my listening room. But my 3 year olds don't respect very much, especially delicate items. In another 5 years or so, I may re-evaluate my security measures, and change things around if appropriate. But for now this is working great.

[jtsjf]

Maybe we should do like the Asian mothers; I have seen, always carrying their babies in back-packs while they go about their daily chores!

Thank you :-)
cosmicdust.

Asian mothers must be heck o' strong. It kills my back.