A little searching around on the Googles turned up some information I didn’t already know about my beloved modem:
- Racal introduced the VA3451S in 1982. It retailed for $900.
- The modem is based on the VA3400 protocol, which was developed by Racal and introduced in 1973, nearly ten years before the ’51S hit the market. The protocol allowed full-duplex 1200-bps transmission over two-wire connections, a thing not previously possible.
- Bell introduced its more-capable 212A modem three years later. The 212A is incompatible with VA3400. Fortunately, Bill Blue and Mark Robbins thought to include multiple protocols when they developed AE Pro.
- Wang sold a re-branded version of this modem creatively called the WA3451S for its line of workstations and terminals.
And this, I was able to pull from the musty cobwebbed corners of my brain: the init string is S0=0 E1Q0V1X4&K3. I know this because I had to key it in every time I loaded up AE Pro to wake the modem up. Eventually, I discovered AE Pro’s awesome macro language and I never had to type it again, but not before it was scored into the gray fleshy folds of my brain matter.
Also, there’s a manual specific to the 3451S out there somewhere (that I never got to see since ours was a second-hand modem, inherited from my father’s place of work). The manual goes into much greater depth on my specific model. I’d love access to a PDF copy, if anyone can point me in the right direction. Apparently, it’s part of a TOSEC collection, but I can’t locate it.