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MOS Technology 6551

The 6551 Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter (ACIA) is 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 with its onboard baud-rate generator, or 125 kbit/s using an external 16x clock. The 6551 was used in several computers of the 1970s and 1980s, including the Commodore PET and Plus/4. It was also used by Apple Computer on the Apple II Super Serial Card, and by Radio Shack on the Deluxe RS-232 Program Pak for their TRS-80 Color Computer.

Variants
The Rockwell 65C52 combines two CMOS 6551s on a chip. == Similar chips ==
Similar chips
The Motorola 6850 is a similar chip to the MOS Technology 6551, but without an onboard bit rate generator. The 6850 is often used for MIDI. The Western Design Center WDC 65C51 is designed as a drop in replacement for the original MOS 6551, electrically, physically and programming- compatible with most 6551 and 6850 derivatives from most other suppliers. The WDC 65C51 has errata, in which the transmitter “ready” bit is “stuck” in the ready state. ==References==
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