Difference between revisions of "NORD-20"

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(NORD-20 must have been introduced in 1972 if not before, and is earlier than the NORD-10)
(The NORD-20 was a production version of the NORD-2B)
 
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| manufacturer = [[Norsk Data]]
 
| manufacturer = [[Norsk Data]]
 
| word size = 16 bit
 
| word size = 16 bit
| year introduced = 1972
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| year introduced = 1971
}}The '''NORD-20''' was a smaller, architecturally compatible version of the [[NORD-10]], for use in OEM and process control systems.
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}}
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The '''NORD-20''' is functionally identical to the [[NORD-2B]]. ND considered the NORD-20 a production version of the NORD-2B. The difference is that the NORD-20 needed only 6 boards instead of 10 for the CPU[1].
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(However, unlike the NORD-20 the NORD-2B could be delivered with an I/O system compatible with the [[NORD-1]], or with the same I/O system used by the NORD-20.)
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The price for a 4K word system, with teletype and punched tape reader, was only NOK 100,000 in 1971.
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* Word length: 16 bits.
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* Two sets of registers. An interrupt will switch the CPU to the second set. Interrupt latency is therefore never longer than the time of the slowest instruction.
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* Instructions not implemented in hardware are implemented as interrupts. This is used to e.g. handle [[NORD-1]] instructions not implemented in hardware in the NORD-2B/NORD-20, by trapping them and implementing them in software.
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* Two program levels: System and user level authorization of instructions.
  
According to the 16th Aug 1973 issue of 'Computing Magazine', the NORD-20 was introduced in 1973. But Oslo Museum has a picture[1] of the NORD-20 which is dated October 1971, and it was probably introduced commercially in 1972, i.e. before the [[NORD-10]].
 
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
* http://www.oslobilder.no/OMU/OB.%C3%9871/3415[1]
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* ND-NYTT December 1971, page 12 [https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2Sc5Qa5d_tLT0RUcFJRX1pFbm8/view]
* [[NORD-10]]
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* Oslo Museum, photo [http://www.oslobilder.no/OMU/OB.%C3%9871/3415]
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* [[NORD-2B]]
  
 
[[Category:Norsk Data Hardware]][[Category:Norwegian Computer History]]
 
[[Category:Norsk Data Hardware]][[Category:Norwegian Computer History]]

Latest revision as of 11:06, 30 August 2016


NORD-20
Manufacturer: Norsk Data
Year Introduced: 1971
Word Size: 16 bit


The NORD-20 is functionally identical to the NORD-2B. ND considered the NORD-20 a production version of the NORD-2B. The difference is that the NORD-20 needed only 6 boards instead of 10 for the CPU[1]. (However, unlike the NORD-20 the NORD-2B could be delivered with an I/O system compatible with the NORD-1, or with the same I/O system used by the NORD-20.)

The price for a 4K word system, with teletype and punched tape reader, was only NOK 100,000 in 1971.

  • Word length: 16 bits.
  • Two sets of registers. An interrupt will switch the CPU to the second set. Interrupt latency is therefore never longer than the time of the slowest instruction.
  • Instructions not implemented in hardware are implemented as interrupts. This is used to e.g. handle NORD-1 instructions not implemented in hardware in the NORD-2B/NORD-20, by trapping them and implementing them in software.
  • Two program levels: System and user level authorization of instructions.


See Also

  • ND-NYTT December 1971, page 12 [1]
  • Oslo Museum, photo [2]
  • NORD-2B