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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1978; 48 years ago (1978) inMesa, Arizona, United States |
| Founder | Bill Mensch |
| Headquarters | Mesa, Arizona ,United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bill Mensch |
| Products | Microprocessors,microcontrollers, support devices |
| Owner | Bill Mensch |
| Website | wdc65xx |
TheWestern Design Center (WDC), located inMesa, Arizona, is a company that developsintellectual property for, andlicenses manufacture of,MOS Technology 65xx basedmicroprocessors andmicrocontrollers. WDC was founded in 1978 by a formerMOS Technology employee and co-holder of theMOS Technology 6502 patent,Bill Mensch.[1] Prior to leaving MOS Technology in 1977 Bill was the microprocessor design manager atMOS Technology.
Beyond discrete devices, WDC offers device designs in the form ofsemiconductor intellectual property cores (IP cores) to use inside other chips such asapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASICs), and provides ASIC andembedded systems consulting services[2] revolving around their processor designs. WDC also producesCcompilers,assembler/linker packages,simulators, development–evaluationprinted circuit boards,[3] andin-circuit emulators for their processors.
The first product developed by WDC was the WDC 65C02, a CMOS version of the NMOS based MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. The 65C02 reduced the power consumption, improved noise immunity and added some new instructions. The 65C02 was subsequently adopted for use in theApple IIc computer and, later, in an enhanced version of theApple IIe.[4]
Mensch's next design, which was to become an important product at WDC, was a 65C02-compatible 16-bit microprocessor, the 65C816, later designated W65C816S. The 65C816's design came about following consultation with Apple and was adopted by them for use in theApple IIGS computer. The 65C816 was later chosen as the core of theRicoh 5A22 processor that powered theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System.[4]
| Name | Type | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| W65C02S | 8-bit microprocessor | Enhanced static coreCMOS version of theMOS Technology 6502 microprocessor |
| W65C816S | 16-bit microprocessor | Extended version of the W65C02S, featuring larger instruction set, selectable register sizes and 24-bitmemory addressing |
| W65C134S | 8-bitmicrocontroller | Microcontroller with W65C02S core andmask-programmableROM |
| W65C265S | 16-bit microcontroller | Microcontroller with W65C816S core and mask-programmable ROM |
| W65C21N | I/O device | Drop-in replacement forMOS Technology 6520 &Motorola 6820/6821 peripheral interface adapters (PIA) |
| W65C21S | I/O device | Lower power, higher performance version of the W65C21N PIA |
| W65C22N | I/O device | Drop-in replacement for theMOS Technology 6522 versatile interface adapter (VIA) |
| W65C22S | I/O device | Modified version of the MOS Technology 6522 VIA, withtotem-poleIRQ output |
| W65C51N | I/O device | Drop-in replacement for theMOS Technology 6551 asynchronous communications interface adapter (ACIA) |
TheMensch Computer is a W65C265 and W65C22-based hobbyist experimentalpersonal computer named after company founder Bill Mensch.