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. |
Gallery
Hello, where you find a ruuber belt for sale? Best regards
Any idea where I could get a service manual?
Please, any chance you could upload a picture of the bottom side of the pcb? I’m trying to repair this unit and there’s lose cables all over the place
Sorry, I don’t have it anymore, I sold it…