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Quickstart - ND-120 on the MiSTer (DE10-Nano)

Run the 1988 Norsk Data ND-120 CPU on a MiSTer (Terasic DE10-Nano, or the Retro Remake MiSTer Pi clone - same Cyclone V SoC, the core is the same .rbf either way). No FPGA toolchain needed - just the ready-built .rbf from the Releases page.

Verified on real hardware (DE10-Nano, 02-SEP-2026): boots to OPCOM, boots SINTRAN III from a mounted Winchester image, CPU self-test passes (green G lamp), and the TDV2200 box-drawing font and keyboard work.

What you need

  • A MiSTer setup that already runs (DE10-Nano + SDRAM module + the standard MiSTer SD card - see https://mister-devel.github.io/MkDocs_MiSTer/). The SDRAM module is required: the ND-120's 4 MB main memory lives in it.
  • The core file nd120_mister_20MHz_115200.rbf from the release.
  • A Winchester (hard-disc) image for SINTRAN - not in the release; see "The disc image" below.

1. Copy the core to the SD card

Put the .rbf in the MiSTer's Computer section so it shows up in the menu:

/media/fat/_Computer/nd120_mister_20MHz_115200.rbf

Copy it over the network (scp/Samba) or by taking the SD card to a PC. The underscore-prefixed _Computer folder is the standard MiSTer convention for the OSD's "Computer" section.

2. Load the core

Power on the MiSTer, press F12 to open the OSD (on-screen menu), go to Computer, and pick ND120. Loading a core reprograms the FPGA - it is flash-free and safe. (Over the network you can also load it without the menu: ssh root@<mister-ip> 'echo "load_core /media/fat/_Computer/nd120_mister_20MHz_115200.rbf" > /dev/MiSTer_cmd'.)

3. What you see, and how to boot

The console is the MiSTer's own screen and keyboard - a full TDV2200 terminal. The CPU's serial line is also on the HPS /dev/ttyS1 at 115200, 7 data bits, EVEN parity, 1 stop bit if you want a logger.

  1. At power-on you get the four-line banner (core / console / build stamp / board + clock + memory), the operator panel across the bottom, and the CPU G lamp lit green once the self-test passes.
  2. You land at the OPCOM # monitor. That alone is the "it works" smoke test - the machine is alive even with no disc.

  3. To boot SINTRAN, mount a Winchester image in the OSD (F12 -> the disc / mount slot), then at the # prompt type:

    &

    SINTRAN loads from the image and comes up; log in and run programs.

The disc image

Not in the release (instructions only). The machine needs a Winchester image (a SINTRAN system disc); mount it from the OSD. Point at the ND software preservation community for images, and at ndtool for building/inspecting them. A core with no image still reaches OPCOM (step 2).

Troubleshooting

Symptom Fix
ND120 not in the menu The .rbf must be in /media/fat/_Computer/; browse the Computer section so the menu re-reads the folder
Nothing on screen / no banner Check the MiSTer's own video is up (HDMI); loading the core reboots the ARM side, so give it a few seconds
Banner shows but no green G Self-test did not pass - report it (see below)
Boxes/lines look like letters That is the box-drawing font; if it is wrong, report the exact characters
& does nothing at # No Winchester image mounted - mount one in the OSD first

What to report

If something is off, the useful facts are: does the four-line banner render (including the box-drawing lines), does the G lamp go green, does OPCOM answer at #, does & boot SINTRAN from a mounted image, and does the keyboard type correctly. The MiSTer core's own detailed notes are in Verilog/fpga/mister/README.md and Verilog/fpga/mister/docs/.