Jeff's Square Dance Related Articles
These are articles related to Square Dancing that I have written. I recently re-found the original WORD files documents for the olders ones. Most of the newer ones have been copied from my archive of "Australian Callers Federation" newsletter "Callerlink", (which I was editor of for several years). The "date" information is based upon the "last save date" of the original documents. Some of the dates might not be correct, but should be close.
THAT SPACE ABOVE THE MA HILTON AMPLIFIER
Ever since I first purcashed a Hilton MA series amplifier I have wanted to make more use of the space above the amplifier. The possibilies didn't look good, firstly the surface area of the top was less than anything I would want to sit on top, and secondly there were two power outputs in the way.
So I started to think of adapting some type of stand that would allow me to me to sit a laptop or other musical player above the MA without interferring with the power outlets.
EASY K-MART OPTION:
I went down to my local K-Mart and found a $8 spice rack. On top of this rack I attached a USB laptop cooling fan. This combination become a cheap, easy and stable set up. The cooling fan allowed a free flow of air for both the laptop (above) and the amplifier (below). But it was a fixed shape and could not be folded up for transport.
After the "proof of concept" of my modified spice rack I started thinking of making something that could do the same job. But as my handyman skills are not that good I did some searching "just in case someone else had already thought of it". I was hoping for something that was adjustable so that I could mount the laptop above the amplifier, sturdy enough so that the laptop would stay there, would fold up afterwards and maybe include a built in fan. And indeed someone else had thought of inventing just what I needed.
ADJUSTABLE LAPTOP STAND
What I found was an "Adjustable Laptop Stand (with cooling fan)" at $39 from Kogan. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/kogan-adjustable-laptop-and-tablet-stand-cooling-fan/
The stand itself is fully adjustable by means of 3 adjustable arms at each side that can be rotated 360 degrees and easily adjusted, (and locked), to any angle and height. This allows a laptop to be raised from 6cm - 48cm and tiltable. It also had an inbuilt USB powered fan. Once I had the ideal settings for me I marked them with white paint so that I could quickly unfold each night. This sits nicely above my MA220 and allows me to use a smaller footprint on the table at my club nights.
Do I really need the cooling fan? Probably not.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE
The Crane Stand Pro – is another product. Designed for professional musicians, and is a bit more expensive, but will certainly do the job, (note that it doesn't include a cooling fan). It is also adjustable to allow for many set ups and will fold flat for transport. Do a google search with keywords "Crane laptop Stand" if you want one.
So yes, there are options for reducing the footprint on your table top, using the space above amplifier and raising your PC monitor to a comfotable working height!
Jeffrey Garbutt 30 Decemeber 2015