The Western Design Center (WDC), located in Mesa, Arizona

Mesa, Arizona

According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, is a company developing and manufacturing MOS 65xx

MOS Technology 65xx

MOS Technology 65xx is a family of 8-bit microprocessors from MOS Technology, based on the Motorola 6800 . The 65xx family most notably included the 6502, used in several home computers such as the Commodore PET and VIC-20, the Apple II, and the Atari 800.One popular 6502 based computer, the...

-based microprocessor

Microprocessor

A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...

s, microcontroller

Microcontroller

A microcontroller is a small computer on a single integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of NOR flash or OTP ROM is also often included on chip, as well as a typically small amount of RAM...

s (µCs), and related support chips. WDC was founded in 1978 by co-holder of the MOS Technology

MOS Technology

MOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is most famous for its 6502 microprocessor, and various designs for Commodore International's range of home computers.-History:MOS Technology, Inc...

 6502

MOS Technology 6502

The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle and Bill Mensch for MOS Technology in 1975. When it was introduced, it was the least expensive full-featured microprocessor on the market by a considerable margin, costing less than one-sixth the price of...

 patent, Bill Mensch

Bill Mensch

American engineer William David Mensch, Jr., born 9 February 1945 in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, USA, is the founder, chairman and CEO of the Western Design Center of Mesa, Arizona...

, himself a former MOS employee.

In addition to the actual microchips, WDC offers chips designs in the form of IP cores to be used inside other chips (like ASIC

Application-specific integrated circuit

An application-specific integrated circuit is an integrated circuit customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use. For example, a chip designed solely to run a cell phone is an ASIC...

s), and provides ASIC and embedded system

Embedded system

An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...

s consulting services revolving around their processor designs. WDC also makes C

C (programming language)

C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....

 compiler

Compiler

A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...

s, assembler/linker packages, simulators, development/evaluation board

Printed circuit board

A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...

s, and in-circuit emulator

In-circuit emulator

An in-circuit emulator is a hardware device used to debug the software of an embedded system. It was historically in the form of bond-out processor which has many internal signals brought out for the purpose of debugging...

s for their processors.

Microchips

Name	| Type	Comments
W65C02S WDC 65C02 The Western Design Center WDC 65C02 microprocessor is an upgraded CMOS version of the popular NMOS-based MOS Technology 6502 8-bit CPU — the CMOS redesign being made by Bill Mensch of the Western Design Center...	8-bit 8-bit The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...  CPU	Bug-fixed static core CMOS version of the originally NMOS NMOS logic N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor logic uses n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors to implement logic gates and other digital circuits...  6502
W65C134S WDC 65C134 The Western Design Center W65C134S microcomputer is a complete fully static 8-bit computer fabricated on a single chip using a low power CMOS process. The W65C134S complements an established and growing line of 65xx products and has a wide range of microcomputer applications...	8-bit µC	Microcontroller with W65C02S CPU core
W65C21S WDC 65C21 The W65C21S is a very flexible Peripheral Interface Adapter for use with WDC’s 65xx and other 8-bit microprocessor families. It is produced by Western Design Center ....	I/O Input/output In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system , and the outside world, possibly a human, or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it...  chip	Compatible with the 6520 Peripheral Interface Adapter (PIA)
W65C22S WDC 65C22 The W65C22S Versatile Interface Adapter is an I/O device for use with the 65xx series microprocessor family. The W65C22S is compatible with the MOS Technology 6522 and includes functions for programmed control of two peripheral ports...	I/O chip	Compatible with the 6522 MOS Technology 6522 The 6522 Versatile Interface Adapter was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology, as well as second sources including Rockwell and Synertek. It served as a I/O port controller for the 6502 family of microprocessors, providing the parallel I/O capabilities of the PIA as well as timers and a...  Versatile Interface Adapter (VIA)
W65C51S WDC 65C51 The CMOS W65C51S Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter provides an easily implemented, program controlled interface between microprocessor based systems and serial communication data sets and modems. It is produced by Western Design Center ....	I/O chip	EIA-232 serial communications chip compatible with the 6551 MOS Technology 6551 The 6551 Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology. It served as a companion UART chip for the widely popular 6502 microprocessor. Intended to implement RS-232, its specifications called for a maximum speed of 19,200 bits per second...  asynchronous communications interface adapter (ACIA)
W65C816S WDC 65816/65802 The W65C816S is a 16-bit microprocessor developed by the Western Design Center . The W65C816S is an enhanced version of the WDC 65C02 8-bit MPU, itself a CMOS enhancement of the venerable MOS Technology 6502 NMOS MPU...	16-bit 16-bit -16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...  CPU	16-bit compatible follow-up to the W65C02, featuring 24-bit memory addressing Address bus An address bus is a computer bus that is used to specify a physical address. When a processor or DMA-enabled device needs to read or write to a memory location, it specifies that memory location on the address bus...
W65C802S WDC 65816/65802 The W65C816S is a 16-bit microprocessor developed by the Western Design Center . The W65C816S is an enhanced version of the WDC 65C02 8-bit MPU, itself a CMOS enhancement of the venerable MOS Technology 6502 NMOS MPU...	16-bit CPU	A 65C816 core in a 6502 pin-compatible package (out of production)
W65C265S WDC 65C265 The Western Design Center W65C265S microcomputer is a complete fully static 16-bit computer fabricated on a single chip using a Hi-Rel low power CMOS process. The W65C265S complements an established and growing line of 65xx products and has a wide range of microcomputer applications...	16-bit µC	Microcontroller with W65C816S CPU core

Other

• The Mensch Computer
  Mensch Computer
  The Mensch Computer is a computer system based on the WDC 65C265 microcontroller and produced by the Western Design Center...
  
  – A W65C265 and W65C22-based hobbyist experiment computer named after company founder Bill Mensch.