Setting Up My Ideal Retro Space

[@NoelsRetroLab]

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[@Vitormarques542]

i always thought that you lived in spain dont know why

[@bzuidgeest]

@@Vitormarques542 that because he did until recently😀

[@bzuidgeest]

Sorry don't need it, i live in a place where you can actually trust the service providers as they are heavily regulated and we have strong consumer projection and privacy laws. You just moved out of it😀😀. Something I still cannot fathom.

[@Okurka.]

@@bzuidgeest Your service provider will share your address with BREIN on simple demand.

[@VD-cc4hx]

13:34 Those 49:9 ultrawide monitors are cool, but i swapped mine out for one expensive (1440p, 240hz, and) 16:9 monitor instead. There are a ton of games that work for that huge monitor, but the software is just frustrating moving windows around on the desktop, as the monitor is weird with chrome webpages. if you want a more ergonomic upgrade to your monitors, i would recommend vesa mounts to any future monitors you end up buying. you can mount them on the end of the desk so that it scales with the height of the standing desk and gives you a lot more room to set things down on the desk. also a huge xxxl mousepads like the glorious mousepad. i want to build my own standing desk someday, but that is just a dream.

[@thebyteattic]

Beautiful house and beautiful space for the lab! I'm happy things seem to be going your way, Noel!

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thanks so much! 😃👍

[@roger.monitor]

I am moving from Belgium to France, so I know what is needed. Now sorting out what has to go and what I keep and take with me. For five years I am using an ex shop cabinet for working standing, it ´s mounted on casters with brakes so that I can move it around when needed. Just the right height for me and all my tools and parts are inside, size is 1200mm by 600mm and one meter high.

[@drspectrum6601]

That ultra violet light just over the retro computers is ideal for a random retrobrighting. Congrats for your new retrolab 2.0 and I'm looking forward to watching your retro videos again.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Hahaha! One hour of ultraviolet per day keeps the yellow stain away! 🤣

[@ctrlaltrees]

Lab goals! Really loving this setup, I might have to steal some ideas for my next place 😁 Glad the move is going well, that garden is fantastic. I hope you remember to take some time away from the screens and enjoy your very own woods!

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thanks! I'm definitely enjoying the surroundings, although our focus so far has been 100% on getting the house up to speed. But we're definitely enjoying and taking advantage of the area and all the hiking and cycling.

[@HAGSLAB]

Yes, the outdoors looks amazing. It's so nice to have a lot of green around. Green as in trees, well money as well I guess.

[@Zeal8bit]

Congratulations for the new lab! The retro space is really cool, the donators were really generous😄 Great video too, I really enjoyed the VLOG style, it's like a "behind the scenes" for the future videos, I am looking forward already! 👏

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thank you! The whole vlog isn't my usual style, but I thought that was the best way to show this whole process. Glad you liked it! 😃

[@lis6502]

Although i am not as much retro guy as i would like to be (flat's space constrains me) i found your video inspiring, more than usual. I am at the moment right before buying apartament with my own separate room. Concept of standing desk for computing while using (old) desk as a bench was something that i didn't knew how much i needed it :) Gracias amigo Noel!

[@more.power.]

Excellent Noel so much more room for work and storage. Your house looks big loads of room for the children to grow into . A lot of grass to mow and trees for trimming . Will fill your days and keep you fit. Thanks again Noel for sharing you new home.

[@InsanePsychoRabbit]

The other day I was wondering what my favorite Spanish KZbinr has been up to. Congrats on the move and the new retro space.

[@user-yr1uq1qe6y]

I’m glad you made this behind the scenes video. We are moving in a few weeks and it was inspiring.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Really glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Good luck with the move!

[@alerey4363]

Congrats for not only moving to USA but also to have your ideal retrospace, all in a beautiful nature-surrounded place! And you have not wasted your time, those vintage pickups look very promising!

[@ElcanaldeEspetero]

Congratulations on the new space! I wish you well in your new adventure in the US. I would have liked to meet you here in Spain, I hope you come back one day and we'll see each other at some retro event. My best wishes!

[@jaycee1980]

For deeper desks, consider using some kitchen worktop as the basis for them. I use some for my electronics benches, and if you can get it recycled or "reject" (ie with a scratch somewhere you wont care about) it can be really cheap :)

[@geezerdiamond]

Excellent progress there Noel. This is going to be a great space. As for the electronics bench, that's a great freebie, and you could always build up plinths under the legs to raise it up. Best of luck - can't wait for more content from your new home.

[@francescosacco4969]

Good luck with your new space. It is getting really nice.

[@psteier]

Congrats. Nice retro space. What was important in my retro room set-up was the light. And I wanted to remain flexible in some things. So a few pieces of furniture or elements have small rotating wheels. Even my rubbish bin has them. Maybe as a tip. For example, I have a big IKEA Alex drawer cabinet - the one with the wide big drawers. On top of it there's a hardwood board for working on, and underneath the cabinet there are wheels. I used it to create a small sliding workbench...

[@kingforaday8725]

Nice!!! Love watching "works in progress" videos. One hint on a reading chair. Dont get one that is to comfortable. It will turn into a sleeping chair!!!! I originally had a nice recliner but switched it out for a waiting room like chair because I kept falling asleep!!!!

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Haha, nothing wrong with catching a quick nap here and there 😃

[@arimus4520]

Wow what a beautiful place to live. So many trees! Looks really peaceful. Hope the rest of the build goes well! Thanks.

[@superspedboy0076]

Welcome to the states! hope everything goes well Noel

[@tony359]

Welcome back! Very envious of the house in the woods! :)

[@minombredepila1580]

Hey Noel. Love your setup and I am so glad you're back in business again. We missed you. Like a lot !!!

[@blakecasimir]

Quite an upheaval for you, Noel. Congrats on the wonderful new inside and outside space. Those new donations will provide some great content, looking forward to it. :)

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Many thanks!

[@tenmillionvolts]

Fantastic new house. I'm cleaning out a space for my retro bits and it's great to see other people's ideas. Please take us around the area outside too. The scenery must be very beautiful there

[@HunterZBNS]

This looks great! Very excited for you and the future of the channel. Thanks for sharing; I especially appreciated how you talked us through your thought processes.

[@CheshireNoir]

Stick a MAME cabinet where the fridge was. Don't forget you'll need a LOT of ventilation for the 3D printer. Good thing that window is right next to your spot.

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

Question: When you raise to the standing desk, does your 30" monitor need to be moved to avoid hitting the shelf, or does it clear it?

[@catriona_drummond]

yeah I thought the same.

[@mogwaay]

Hey great to see your new setup! I'm going to go freeze-frame over that awesome collection of workshops you collected as I bet there is a ton of awesome ideas in there (also fun to match up the space to the owner - sure I saw Jan Betas setup there!), and I need some really good ideas for my absolutely *tiny* retro nook I've got going on in my small London flat - a single fold-down cuboard/press thing and small cupboard.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thanks! If you want the individual images (plus more that I didn't put in there) let me know and I can put a link to them on Discord. Might be easier than freeze-framing 😃 And yes, Jan's is there (most of them have the name of who they belong to--minus the ones I didn't originally make a note of that).

[@mogwaay]

@@NoelsRetroLab that would be great, to my shame I've never been on the Discord but defo take a look of there were some of the workshop pics there. Cheers!

[@S0urceror]

Definitely interested in the full pictures. I am busy setting up my space again after our attic roof extension. Great inspiration!

[@HAGSLAB]

@@NoelsRetroLab The pictures would be nice to have for sure. I noticed Jan Betas setup as well, haha 😆

[@horusfalcon]

Glad to see things progressing so well! Welcome to New England. If you know your computing history, then you know Massachusetts, in particular, played a very important part in the early computing revolution. There's a lot of computing history there.

[@S0urceror]

So cool to kind of start anew. Make plans and bring them to live. Thanks Noel and great to see things are working out fine.

[@WacKEDmaN]

looking great Noel!... cool place youve got..looks like a nice quiet area.. your lab is filling up fast with all your new goodies!.. you might need some other storage somewhere...

[@gregclare]

Nice job, and nice new space! I was glad to see at the end, that you’d taken the door off between the rooms. That was one of my first thoughts when you initially showed us the space. Given how you are using the rooms, the internal door would’ve just been unnecessarily taking up space.

[@SuperVstech]

I have three houses, a large garage shop, a huge warehouse office, and three storage units… and a mini barn… I’m certain I could setup all my accumulated computers, games, and magazines… such a nice setup you have there… in my downtime between seasons, I REALLY need to unbox hints and setup a mancave somewhere.

[@airspeedmph]

At 3:07 that's Jan Betas's place :)

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Yes! (It says so in the bottom left corner too 😃).

[@airspeedmph]

@@NoelsRetroLab Oh...I look dumb now.

[@MikesLEDShed]

Time: 3:14 - thats my setup :-) thanks for including it 😀

[@LUNATIC75]

Good to see you back, Noel. And living the Retro heads dream too!

[@alogie]

Very happy to see some new videos. Congratulations on the new space. It looks really good.

[@smalltownMainer]

i have a long table with a vic 20, radioshack coco 2, ibm 5150 and apple IIE enhanced, but my table is crap, so i have a couple pieces of wood under it for support. and not on that table is a trs 80 model 3 and mc10. and in another room i have my atari 2600 and NES. i would like to find a period correct tv for the coco2, the others have their monitors.

[@Felice_Enellen]

Heh, funny to see Jan Beta's setup at 3:07. Probably others I watch too, but I didn't catch them. This is the cool kids' club. ;D

[@scottherr5922]

Nice video. Enjoyed watching the process of setting up your new space.

[@JVHShack]

Now that you're back in the USA, I suggest getting an Apple IIgs if you didn't already get one. It will do everything that the IIe will do and much more.

[@seraphinberktold7087]

A nice new place for retro computing and electronics stuff. I have one advice for painting walls, if I may be so bold: Do remove the protective tape while the paint is still wet. Otherwise you might tear away some bits of dry paint when you remove the tape.

[@10p6]

Quick note, on some of the computers like the Spectrum, it is probably easier to use things like a US Atari Jaguar PSU which will work perfectly with it; it also works with the Megadrive and a few others if I remember correctly. If you would like a couple of them as donations, please let me know.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

Or just setup a 5V/9V/12V rail with a modern switchin PSU with custom cables for each divice.

[@electricadventures]

Very nice looking space (amazing what a nice coat of paint can do). I really like that standing desk, my new job I am working from home a lot more, and being an old person with a bad back (already part cyborg ;)), I have been considering upgrading my home setup to have a standing desk. Looking forward to the setup of your electronics work area, I need to redo mine (as the area I did setup has just turned into a mess).

[@TechMadeEasyUK]

Congratulations on the new home and of course on the new lab, looking forward to seeing more of this!

[@alexandermaasland3494]

Congrats on the new house Noel, it looks like a wonderful place to live at :) Looking forward to your future videos !!! Keep up the great work and be sure to take the time to get everything just right :)

[@66mhzbrain]

I did my pokey little room out a few weeks ago, Im jealous. That looks like an awesome space!

[@OzRetrocomp]

Congrats on the new digs, Noel! Great to see the Lab made it to the States in one piece. Looking forward to seeing what Lab 2.0 has in store.

[@RacerX-]

Congrats on the new location you picked a beautiful spot. It's always nice setting up a new space. Moving is in my near future to only I am not a fan of painting. haha. I won't be moving out of the country so I won't have to get any converters. It's nice that you can easily get new power bricks for your 64s and A500s. Not sure about your other UK computers but thankfully most modern stuff supports everything. Anyway, congrats.

[@joe.tiziano]

Awesome Lab/Video Noel. I am really interested in the type of 3D printer you have.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

I actually got a resin one (Mars2Pro sent to me by Elegoo), which I know is going to be quite different from a filament one, so it'll be interesting to see its strengths and weaknesses.

[@TheMightyOmega-NotTheAlpha]

The Berkshires are such a nice area, so beautiful!

[@ExcalibursZone]

That's a nice setup you have! I am looking forward to how you utilize the other areas. As for the last dream you mention, I am actually planning one as well. I want a place to store all the current consoles and emulation stuff I have in one place for my son and me to hang and enjoy ourselves at. Here's to hoping my wife allows that ;) Also, when you showed the outside of the house and part of the property, I thought it looked like an area where I used to live, and I was right. Nice area with a lot of beautify natural spaces to see and explore. I hope you have a great time in the new place!

[@djdublo]

Lab 2.0 looks like it will be excellent! Like the Amstrad CPC sneaking in a couple of times.....!

[@papalapa6728]

Great! Nice setup, and the arcade cabinet is a good idea. You just need to practice a little bit more with the painting... 😄

[@RudysRetroIntel]

Excellent lab 2.0 and awesome finds! Looking forward to more videos from you new setup. Congratulations

[@YogSothoth1969]

Wow, that is awesome Noel, looks very cool already and I am excited to see in future videos, and so nice to see you back online again!!! And thank you sooo much, I have seen my very tiny electronic desk in your desk collection in the video, that was very very nice, thank you soo much, I felt very honoured:-) Best wishes, Michael

[@HAGSLAB]

This was so much fun to watch! Congratulations on the house and dedicated retro/lab basement. Looking forward to the future content. 😁

[@Kev_Partner]

I've got the ultra cheap IKEA standing desk - I've had it for over five years and crank it up and down four times a day (extra exercise!). Good to see you set up - having a blank canvas is both exciting and intimidating!

[@NoelsRetroLab]

That's funny. I thought I would use the crank no problem, but for some reason I eventually gave up. Maybe it takes too long, or wobbles too much... Not sure. This one I've been changing it on a whim whenever I feel like it, so really happy with that so far.

[@terosaarela4555]

The new lab looks awesome!

[@jeffdawson7936]

Congratulations Noel -- very much looking forward to future videos.

[@frankowalker4662]

Nice house with a great garden. Awesome paint job. The last time I painted a room it was a total disaster. LOL Just wondering, is the cooker wired up to 240VAC ? (I've heard that sometimes they do that in the states. You could use that instead of a transformer.)

[@JohnGotts]

Invest in some UPSes. My lab/bedroom has four of them. Well worth the money spent for valuable/irreplaceable equipment. The very best ones have lithium batteries but lead acid is acceptable for this application.

[@TnThSm]

Great video. Just checking, but the retro computers... they're on a surge protector right?

[@kg2ix]

Looks great. Thank you for sharing with us. Best of luck with your new home.

[@SobieRobie]

Hello Noel, i'm very happy for you! It looks like something I want to achive but I'm on the start of the way :) We do home restoration including basement deepening where my RetroLab will be. Deepening will be finished in two weeks I hope and then I will be able to pour concrete to make new floor. So maybe next year I will be in the point where you are today. Cheers!

[@MrFixiit]

great stuff glad to see your settleing in nicely cant wait to see what supprises you have up next.

[@davidwright9166]

Nice, hope it brings you much joy.

[@fattomandeibu]

I'm lucky on the desk front, I still have and use my old computer desk from the '90s, it has a monitor shelf(sits around 8" above the actual desk) that is the right size for sitting a 19" CRT in depth, and the width is just short enough that you can stand a PC tower on the right of the desk, as well as a printer shelf on the bottom that I use for the power strip these days. Originally it held a PAL TV on the shelf with C64(later A1200) underneath. If you can find some similar, I'd imagine they would be ideal for the lab. I imagine some office furniture places may still have some in stock.

[@johnmatrishon7245]

Looks great! Can’t wait to see it evolve.

[@CitroenGS]

Nice! I like the idea of the standing desde, but not for me. I have back troubles that hurts a lot when I'm standing up for too much time, so I have to seat in a short time. But if I could stand up, I surely have one of this. Are you moving all your collection from Europe?

[@CraigAB69]

My concern would be working under that A/C unit. I don't know what the weather is like where you are living, but if there is condensation or even if the A/C is blowing on you consistently it is a problem. That garden is massive and will take a lot to maintain. Maybe that is your stress relief from electronics? It is looking good though.

[@8BitRetroJournal]

Watching this video and all the work that goes into it, you completely forget that this is only a small portion of the house. Can't imagine how much work it's been to do the rest of the house. Looks like a beautiful spot in western Mass. and lab looks great. Not only would I pull the fridge out, I'd also get rid of the electric stove and stick a wishdasher (that's what RR calls it 😕) in there to clean circuit boards, etc...

[@8BitRetroJournal]

Btw, is it possible to use that 240 volt outlet for the electric stove in the small kitchen for your European devices? The US wires two 120 volt lines together with a central neutral, and from what I've read European 240v runs hot to neutral, so maybe with the right plug?

[@joshm7769]

What an amazing house, beautiful surroundings!

[@gianlucarenzi7706]

How did you manage the led lights under the wooden stuff? I have no seen any cable or leads...

[@KolliRail]

I enjoyed this video very much! I really like 'behind the scenes' content! Your retro area is already looking nice. But I was surprised how small it is! Yes, bugger than the on in Luanco, but still small. My 'lab' is maybe the same size, but one single room. And although my collection is not very excessive, I'm constantly running out of space.

[@proteque]

The new place looks great!

[@succuvamp_anna]

Welcome to the US, being near Boston your little one will have so many opportunities for universities when they get to that age! Places like MIT have summer programs for kids too.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thank you. You're right! That was a big part of what brought us here.

[@JakeBirkett]

Hi Noel, great new space! I hope you have many happy repairs in there :-)

[@johnsonlam]

Nice new lab! Looking forward to see you new projects.

[@hiaslw.4871]

Congrats! I like your new Retro space a lot 😍 I am sure you will have a good time there.

[@10p6]

When did you move to USA, I thought you lived in Spain? Awesome anyway :-)

[@luisrodrigues7162]

Best luck for your new lab. I didnt know you are game developer. My son will start studing computer engeniring this year and his dream is to be a game programmer. Best regards from portugal.

[@lexpee]

What have you to do there in Amerika?

[@EdwinNoorlander]

Nice, good luck on the other side of the pond.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thanks 👍

[@mykself]

Welcome back! :)

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thank you! 😃

[@bzuidgeest]

Technology connections channel recently mentioned you can have 220v sockets in the US. I believed he said they where used for kettles or something. Just as matter of wiring. Might be a lot neater and cleaner then step up transformers

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Yes. He even has a whole video about it from a couple of years back. Worth watching. I might consider it at some point, especially since that would also be very useful for woodworking machines.

[@billjohnson3344]

You can, but you need to understand how they are different than Europe 220/240V. In Europe, you have single phase, Line 1 / Neutral + ground. Ground is the same potential as Neutral over there. But here we are split phase, so you make a 240V outlet with Line 1 / Line 2 + ground. With that setup, ground is not the same potential as either hot prong - no neutral. So if you switch the outlet, you have to switch BOTH lines as otherwise there is still one hot that has 120V potential there to ground. Hope that makes sense.

[@bzuidgeest]

@@billjohnson3344 yes it does. It's the same with three phase power. But if any qualified electrician should be able to do the work or explain it to him. It's not that difficult. And we are most likely taking single outlet here.

[@billjohnson3344]

Other thing to watch out for with that setup is the 60Hz in the US, versus 50Hz. Certain computers use that for timing sync - but more so on TV / monitors.

[@billjohnson3344]

@@bzuidgeest Yes, but you also need to be careful with certain equipment. Some devices may not like that ground is 120V different from what they expect to be Neutral - which in the US 240V scenario is the second hot leg. Or if they tie parts of the chassis to what they expect to be Neutral - which isn't. More of a concern for TV/monitors than retro PCs however.

[@SeanChYT]

11:43 "Years later I moved to Spain". Oh gosh. I thought you were Spanish originally. (?)

[@EduSodap]

Didn't even know you had left Luanco!! 😣

[@NoelsRetroLab]

El plan es volver por los veranos, o sea que no del todo 😃

[@necro_ware]

Oh, you moved from Spain to US/MA? Now retrobrightening will take three times as much. I'm living in Germany, I know, what I'm talking about :D But a very nice place! Especially around the house.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

That place is about the same latitude as Barcelona.... Much better than shitty Hamburg which is always covered in rain clouds.

[@VincentGroenewold]

Didn't realize you lived in the states! Nice space!

[@NoelsRetroLab]

I just moved a few months ago. So I'll be part of the year here and part of the year in Spain.

[@Lee_Adamson_OCF]

Welcome to the States! What state did you move to?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

I'm in Western Mass.

[@Lee_Adamson_OCF]

​@@NoelsRetroLab Ah cool. Too far for me to buy you a beer, but maybe I'll run into you at a VCF someday. :D

[@Mrshoujo]

Here all this time I thought you were based in Europe somewhere. While not my idea of a space for retro computing and etc, it is ideal for a studio where it should be quiet while recording.

[@matthiasmartin1975]

Very nice for American standards. Good job with the painting.

[@JohnDee1527]

Awesome video! So much space inside and out.

[@bobvines00]

Noel, this was an interesting video and I'm _really_ looking forward to your retro electronics lab video! Especially the tools & equipment you choose to recommend for working with retro computers. I need to get serious and finish building up my (retro) electronics lab too! ;)

[@awilliams1701]

I love/hate 3d printing. I just got into it in the past few months. When it works it's great and fun and I love it. When it doesn't work it's a huge pain in the ass. I want a Prusa XL because it would fix all the issues I've had pretty much permanently, but since I have a 5 color selector add on for my printer, I would need the $4k version. Also it's not out. Only The guys at Prusa in Progue have them right now. If I ordered it in 2019 I MIGHT get it this year. As it stands the earliest I could get it would be next year. Hopefully I can make my Enterprise model finally print this time. It's actually the first 3d model I ever made. (at least properly anyway)

[@GenialHarryGrout]

The new setup is looking good

[@00Skyfox]

Boston? I thought you lived in Spain.

[@TotoGuy-Original]

there is a cooker in the kitchen, did you know cookers and washing machines and driers in USA mostly run off 220v so you can probably use a cooker or laundry outlet. or you could get one fitted where you need it. chances are you can run 220v or 210v (typically in appartments) from your fuse board. i learnt this a couple years ago there are a few video's about it a guy who does technology video's i think his channel is technology connections??? not sure but he shows you a fuse board and explains stuff worth a look so you dont have to use transformers.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

I knew about the 220V part (Technology Connections has a great video about it), but I didn't realize the stove could be running off of that. I'll have to check. Thanks.

[@TotoGuy-Original]

@@NoelsRetroLab no problem hopefully its useful. if it were me and it has 220v id run a set of wires from it to where you need it and add another socket. probably seem strange to Americans but it would make sense for what you need it for :) and its not like you would use the 220v at the same time as the stove not that that should be an issue anyway 120v has its down sides but most of those come with the use of power tools welders etc.

[@awilliams1701]

lol I don't consider chicklet keyboards to be real. The keys need to have some depth to them and curves and such.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

Id love to hear more about your main Job :)

[@NoelsRetroLab]

You're not the first one to ask this. I've been considering doing a video with questions submitted by viewers about me, my job, or anything. I'm sure that will come up.