WDL

WDL (Presumably "Wei Dei Li") is a manufacturer of several clone chips for numerous clones of various game consoles. Very little is known about the company, however their clone chip manufacturing can be traced as early as 1990 and as late as 2001. Very distinctive features of their clones are that they are simply die mask clones, not reverse-engineered designs. As a result, their clones tend to have little to no compatibility issues compared to the legitimate chips running the same software. One other major defining feature is the inclusion of 50/60Hz region switching and compatibility where possible.

As a result of the UMC v. Nintendo lawsuit in both Australia and the United States, WDL cautiously started distancing themselves from the clone chips they produced, by giving them odd aliases and ID numbers. However, they can still very easily be traced back to WDL thanks to their unified date format or re-use of specific aliases.

Manufactured chips

"WDL" Line

This line encompasses chips WDL released under their own company name or has their logo added to it. Only three clone chips are currently known to have been released under this name, exclusively for the Famicom.

An example of the WDL 6528 palette appearing incorrect for Cut Man's stage.

WDL Part Number	System	Clone of	Notes
WDL 6528	Famicom	RP2C02G-0	Slightly broken color output? In Mega Man 1/Rockman, Cut Man's stage appears blue. Otherwise functionally identical to TA-02N despite the UMC part number. Not paired with a WDL 6527, but rather the oddly named "XYZ-6783" CPU clone.
UM02	Famicom	RP2A03G (modified)	Same 50/60 switch as TA-02NP models. Otherwise functionally identical to TA-02NP series despite the UMC part number.
UM03	Famicom	RP2C02G-0 (modified)	CPU clone to play NTSC games in PAL regions. Contains a different clock divider due to the different region's colorburst crystal. Otherwise functionally identical to TA-03NP series despite the UMC part number.

"2" Line

This line encompasses chips WDL "released" as early iterations of their clones. As a result, they are often less accurate and buggier than their later "perfected" die mask clones, despite also being die mask clones.

WDL Part Number	System	Clone of	Notes
215	PC-Engine	HuC??	Always paired with the other two "matching" chips. All consoles with this chipset use an external custom 50/60Hz converter ASIC (NK5060), a clone of the original MK5060 in the PC-Engine. Later became the TA-15.
216	PC-Engine	HuC??	Ditto. Later became the TA-16.
217	PC-Engine	HuC??	Ditto. Later became the TA-17.
2010	Famicom	RP2C02E	Video output is too saturated, similar to UA6528. Later became the TA-02N.
2011	Famicom	RP2A03E	Some models lack APU Tonal noise. DMC has a slight DC offset. Later became the TA-03N.
22C309NH	Game Boy	DMG-CPU-??	Present in the Game Fighter clone. Later resold under the TA name and others. Was also later cloned by other manufacturers.
22C650	Super Famicom	??	WDL datecode present. Commonly seen on SFC clones as well as a SNES-based bootleg Killer Instinct arcade board. Ditto to below.
22C727	Super Famicom	??	Contains WDL datecode.
22C728-N	Super Famicom	??	Contains WDL datecode. N marking may denote NTSC, similar to their TA line. Not present in all clones.
22C730	Super Famicom	??	Contains WDL datecode.
22C731	Super Famicom	??	Contains WDL datecode.
22C733	Super Famicom	??	Contains WDL datecode.

"TA" Line

This line is most notable for its prominence in Famiclones, and Mega Drive clones. However it has seen niche appearances outside of these.

TA Series Number	System	Clone of	Notes
TA-01	Atari 2600	TIA/Custom 2600 SoC?	Presumed to exist. Evidence currently scant.
TA-02N	Famicom	RP2C02G-0	NTSC PPU
TA-02NP	Famicom	RP2C02G-0 (modified)	PPU for playing NTSC games in PAL regions. Repurposes EXT pins for 50/60Hz conversion
TA-02NP1	Famicom	RP2C02G-0 (modified)	Ditto. Revision 1(?)
TA-02NP2	Famicom	RP2C02G-0 (modified)	Ditto. Revision 2(?)
TA-02NPB	Famicom	RP2C02G-0 (modified)	Ditto, but outputs exclusively PAL-B video.
TA-02NPN	Famicom	RP2C02G-0 (modified)	Ditto, but for PAL-N.
TA-03N	Famicom	RP2A03G	NTSC CPU clone. Later versions come with a 6527 "equivalent part" marking.
TA-03NP	Famicom	RP2A03G (modified)	CPU clone to play NTSC games in PAL regions. Contains a different clock divider due to the different region's colorburst crystal.
TA-03NP1	Famicom	RP2A03G (modified)	Ditto. Revision 1(?)
TA-03NP2	Famicom	RP2A03G (modified)	Ditto. Revision 2(?)
TA-04	Mega Drive	315-5308
TA-05	Mega Drive	315-5309
TA-06	Mega Drive	315-5313
TA-07	MD/General Purpose	YM2612
TA-15	PC-Engine	HuC??	Always paired with the other two "matching" chips. Contains integrated 50/60 switching functionality, instead of relying on an external chip. Originally was the "215" ASIC.
TA-16	PC-Engine	HuC??	Ditto. Originally was the "216" ASIC.
TA-17	PC-Engine	HuC??	Ditto. Originally was the "217" ASIC.
TA-475	Mega Drive (Model 2)	?	Seems to integrate most functions except 68000 CPU and TA-04 functionality into a single ASIC.
TA0201	Game Boy	DMG-CPU-??	Has WDL datecode

WDL Date Code Format

This date code format covers most chips made by WDL. Others include a traditional YYWW date format.

The format mostly seems to be a simple translation of the number dates to letters. When decoded, it is simply the traditional YYWW format.

Conversion Table

A = 1

B = 2

C = 3

D = 4

E = 5

F = 6

G = 7

H = 8

J = 9

K = 0

Example dates (decoded)

Chip: WDL 6528

Original: JBBF

Decoded: 9226 (Week 25 1992)

Chip: WDL UM02 and WDL UM03

Original: JBCF

Decoded: 9236 (Week 36 1992)

Chip: "22C731" (SNES Clone chip)

Original: JDKC

Decoded: 9403 (Week 3 1994)

Chip: "TA0201" (DMG CPU Clone)

Original: JGDB

Decoded: 9742 (Week 42 1997)