The Kastam company is a bit of a mystery; I’ve done extensive research on the web, and couldn’t find any information about the company, and no other products except the 8-track units in the ESTECHO collection.
They might have been bought out in the early eighties by Guyatone, who rebranded the SS-102 and released it as the EM-808D. If you compare the inside of both units, you’ll see that they’re identical. For an in-depth description of this unit’s features, please visit the EM-808D page.
Technical Info / Service Notes
My Kastam SS-102 worked fine when I got it, but after a few hours of use I lost the delay signal. I opened the unit and quickly found the problem: the belt had broken, a relatively common occurence with these old machines. The rubber on the belt was very brittle and dry, so it was only a question of time before it would break.
I’ve installed a replacement belt, 33cm length, 1mm thickness. The Kastam now works perfectly.
Specifications
Manufacturer | Kastam Electronics Co. Ltd. (Yokohama, Japan) |
Date | Possibly early 80s (the same unit was released by Guyatone in 1983, see below) |
List price | |
Transport type | 8-track cartridge |
Motor speed | Variable |
Playback heads | 1 |
Head selection | n/a |
Delay time | 150 - 400 ms (from EM-808D catalog) |
Inputs | 3 |
Outputs | High gain, Low gain |
Wet output only | Yes, through the "from PA" input |
Pinch roller | |
Tone control | Bass and treble for delay signal |
Remote Control | Echo on/off footswitch jack |
Operating Voltage | |
Related models | Also known as the Guyatone EM-808D, the Redson EC-25, Eiko SS-102 and probably others... There are a few other Kastam tape echo models I know of, such as the SS-100, SS-101 and SS-301. |
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