Source: ndwiki article "NORD-20"¶
- Live page: https://www.ndwiki.org/wiki/NORD-20
- Copy used here: Wayback Machine snapshot, fetched 2026-08-27 by Ronny's request. The live ndwiki is behind an Anubis proof-of-work gate.
Status: SECONDARY, and it largely dissolves the NORD-20 as a separate design.
"The NORD-20 is almost identical with the NORD-2B. Compared to later models of NORD-2B the NORD-20 is electrically the same but the CPU is contained on six boards instead of ten. It is smaller physically than the NORD-10. The NORD-20 was released before the NORD-10."
Dates and numbers: introduced 1971, first system installed January 1972, and 43 systems installed by August 1974. The page repeats the ND Design Goals line about fast interrupt handling, data communications, multi-computer applications and process control - which is where our NORD-2U entry came from, and suggests NORD-2U and NORD-20 may be the same machine under two spellings.
A comparison table made in August 1973 gives real numbers for both machines:
| NORD-10 | NORD-20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cycle time | 0.4-0.8 us | 1.0 us |
| Word length | 16 | 16 |
| Memory size | 8-256 kWord | 4-16 kWord |
| Price, basic system | 200,000 NOK | 78,000 NOK |
| Price, typical system | 2,000,000 NOK | 500,000 NOK |
One survivor: a NORD-20 of unknown serial in the Troeim collection, Telemuseum storage at Fetsund, 2016 inventory.
Verbatim extract¶
The NORD-20 is almost identical with the NORD-2B. Compared to later models of NORD-2B the NORD-20 is electrically the same but the CPU is contained on six boards instead of ten.[1] It is smaller physically than the NORD-10[2]. The NORD-20 was released before the NORD-10.
NORD-20 in an office settings with ASR-33 terminal, Centronics printer, Facit 4070 punch and a card reader
First installed system in January 1972. In August 1974 a total of 43 systems had been installed[3].
The NORD-20 was introduced in 1971. This computer provides very fast interrupt handling and is very well suited for data communications, multi-computer applications and process control.[4]
Comparision with NORD-10¶
The following comparision was made in August 1973.[5]
ROW| | NORD-10 | NORD-20 |
ROW| Cycle time | 0.4-0.8 us | 1.0 us |
ROW| Word length | 16 | 16 |
ROW| Memory size | 8-256 kWord | 4-16 kWord |
ROW| Price basic system | 200.000 NOK | 78.000 NOK |
ROW| Price for typical system | 2.000.000 NOK | 500.000 NOK |
Remaining machines¶
This is a first shot at a list of remaining machines. Also machines that is known to be lost will be listed to make it easier to locate remaining ones. We don't have any production numbers yet.
- NORD-20 with unknown serial is in the collection of Troeim, in Telemuseums storage in Fetsund (2016 inventory).
References¶
- ^ ND-Nytt #7, May 1973 page 20-21.
- ^ Picture in the collections of Oslo Museum
- ^ Computers and People, September 1974
- ^ Norsk Data library, Software Nord-10 Design Goals (TSS-02)
- ^ Computer manufacturing survey from 1973
ROW|
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