Public Domain Software by Jim Ferr, Scott Johnson, & Frank Kucharski.
Special thanks to Lon Seidman and Mike Whalen.

Warp Six is BBS software for the Apple //e and ][gs computers. This page is to keep those of you who are interested abreast of developments. Warp Six is PUBLIC DOMAIN software, which means it is FREE. It may be used, distributed, modified, and mangled to your heart's content.
WARP 6 BBS ARCHIVES
Download Shareware version 8.7 (SHK) HERE
(No longer collecting shareware fees. Archived for historical purposes.)
Download public domain version 2.2 (SHK) HERE
Download public domain version 2.3 (SHK) HERE
Download public domain version 2.5 (SHK) HERE
Download public domain version 2.5 source (SHK) HERE
(Source code for the machine language portions of W6)
Download public domain version 3.0 (SHK) HERE


WARP 6 DOOR GAMES
Download Trivia Master V1.0 (SHK) HERE

I am currently working on the new release (version 3.0) with Jim Ferr's blessings. Jim is the original author of the Warp Six BBS software, but has moved on to the Mac world pretty much since he got his promotion from Apple Canada's "Technical Response Group" to "Information Systems & Technology". His official job title is "Programmer Analyst" but he actually has four jobs: database administration, network support, telecom support, & desktop support (belated congratulations, Jim!). He has agreed to continue to work on the Modem drivers and other assembly portions of the software but is trying real hard to pass the Applesoft portion of the program on to others of us who have an interest. Frank Kucharski and I (Scott Johnson) were chosen to continue the Warp Six tradition.

Version 3.0 is close to release now. I have been trying real hard to find time to finish up the installer and the docs. The beta has been running on my BBS for a few months now and I think all the bugs have been found and fixed. I apologize for taking so long to get this done, but unfortunately I have to work for a living. PD software just doesn't pay the bills... I have some vacation coming so hang in there.

I have a feature list for version 3.0 posted here now. This update doesn't have a whole lot of new stuff for the end user, but I have crammed quite a few goodies in for the sysop and a few of the existing features have been tweaked for speed (such as the user list sorting routines). There are also a couple of things Jim was working on that have been polished and more integrated into the package.

Frank has been working on the file libraries but it doesn't look like he will have it finished in time to release those updates with version 3.0. We'll get that into the next release.

HANG IN THERE FOLKS! We are still working on it!


UPDATE 12/16/2001: I am no longer working on nor running Warp Six software. The internet has taken over... :(

UPDATE 4/26/2013: I've had a spurt of interest in some of the old Apple ][ stuff and found a BBS running Warp Six over the internet. See a video about The Matrix and how he's doing it HERE. Due to this find I have put in some more work on version 3.0. It is still beta but it now has an updater program. As always, it is Public Domain and free to use, modify, abuse, or mangle to your heart's content. If you do have an interest in playing with version 3.0, you'll need to install version 2.2 or later and then update it to 3.0 using the package above.

UPDATE 5/18/2013: I've done some more work on the update package. I totally rewrote the updater. It now does everything for you. No more copying files manually. I also got the quote working again. Every time you logon it gives you a cute saying. There's over 1600 of them in the file so you shouldn't see repeats very often. I generate a random number to display them so it could happen now and then.

UPDATE 5/20/2013: We're having issues with the update in this configuration using the Raspberry Pi. For some reason the Pi is not initializing. We're trying to work our way through this issue. Lon is currently running version 2.2 sucessfully. I've put version 2.2 on this site as well for this reason. I don't think Lon is running a modified modem cable with his system. If you want to play with Warp Six in this same comfiguration, I suggest using v2.2 for the time being. Once we have things figured out for version 3, I will post results here and fix the update package if needed.

UPDATE 2/5/2017: Someone else is showing some interest in playing with Warp Six, so here we go. In my digging around, I have found a couple more versions of Warp Six both on the net and on my old hard drive. I've posted them here for anyone who might want them.

We're basically at the same point that Lon made it to, but Mike Whalen looks like he's interested in taking things further. We're currently discussing exactly what hardware and cables he is using so we can put together a proper modem cable. Hopefully that will get us past the issues with resetting the bbs when a user drops carrier (leaves without a proper logoff) and getting the modem (Raspberry Pi running Tcpser) to initialize in version 3.0. If that happens then the sky is the limit!

UPDATE 4/10/2017: We have sorted out the cabling issues for the ][gs modem port and for the //e running a Super Serial Card. It took a small tweak to the drivers to get things up and running properly. Testing is proceeding and progress is being made. We've even managed to squash a few bugs along the way as well!

We think we know what's going on with file transfers and Jim is looking into a fix for that. Right now they will work sometimes and others not so much. We THINK it has to do with the basic difference between a modem to modem connection and an Internet connection. With a direct connection, file packets will always arrive in the proper order. On the Internet, packets can leap frog over each other because packets can be directed along different routes. The BBS file transfer protocols have nothing in place to reorder the packets. They just know that packet 4 comes after packet 3 and if that's not what shows up, then it replies with a NAK instead of an ACK. It never seems to recover once this happens. With all the file archives available on the Internet, I don't feel this is a deal breaker, but we'll see if Jim can fix it.

UPDATE 4/24/2017: Things seem to be running well. Still looking at file transfers. Not looking real promising right now. Squashed more bugs and updated more docs to update or fix errors.

I rewrote the updater program. It is now a single file instead of 2 and has some added intelligence.I was having trouble with the end of the basic file getting clobbered when binary files were loaded. I found that I could load the binaries, then CHAIN to the same Applesoft program at the next line and it would fix the tail end of the program that got clobbered. It just really bugged me that I needed 2 small files to get it done.

Through all the testing, we know approximately how much free space is needed so UPDATER checks the BBS volume to see if it's available. More user prompts so they can follow along and know what's happening. If you're running any faster than 1mhz then you'll need to read fast. It rolls right along till it hits the file copy section. Testing is all done on Kegs32. Run time at 1 mhz launching from the desktop and returning to the desktop (I know. Unrealistic. GSOS doesn't run on a //e) is just under 3 minutes. Booting only ProDOS and running it would be closer to 2 minutes. Run time at 2.8mhz Desktop to desktop is 1:09. At 8mhz it's 24 seconds, and at full emulator speed it's 10 seconds flat. A floppy will slow things down some...

UPDATE 5/10/2017: Looks like we have things sorted out finally. This looks like a full V3.0 release! WooHoo!!!

UPDATE 10/5/2018: After further testing, it apears that transfers don't work with Telnet programs such as SynchTERM. If you connect with a real Apple running ProTerm then transfers seem to work OK. I have no idea why. As I stated earlier, I doubt we will put much effort into figuring this out or fixing it. If you're using real Apple ][ hardware then your downloads should work. If you are using a PC or Mac then they won't but you can easily find what you need elsewhere on the Net.


Send mail to me at: Scott@IowaJohnsons.com
Changes last made on: Fri Oct 5, 2018