Info and Tips on Fostex Tape Recorders

First off I do NOT recommend you purchase any Fostex tape recorder....

Why you ask...

Fostex tape recorders are all "Semi-pro" machines, often built with very under powered motors
and often basically cassette machine Capstans in their early 2 track tape decks.

They were built I think, to enter the home recording market as cheaply as possible.

All except perhaps the G16 and G24, were very underbuilt.
The E2 and the E20 two tracks and the R8 take only 7 1/2 inch reels of tape.
The reel motors and capstans in these machines are basically little more than cheap cassette machine style (and quality) parts.
Most Fostex decks are small and light weight, indicative of the under powered cheap design.

But all Fostex tape recorders have some VERY nice extra functions that are a big plus....
They all have Vari-speed.... they all have very functional Counters and locators built in.
The E16 has Dolby C, and the G16 and G24 have Dolby S noise reduction.

So if they are still in good operating condition, they do work OK and should, sort of, sound OK...
And they should sell VERY cheaply !!!!     Do NOT overpay for them !!!!

The G16 and G24 were the machines that Fostex finally decided to build solidly, and used 1 inch tape
for 24 tracks, and 1/2 inch tape for the 16 track G16, and both also used an internal Dolby S noise reduction.
But in both the G16 and G24 decks most electrolytic caps need replacement now.... and they are very early style
surface mount devices, difficult to replace.

Also note that the G16 and G24 are all surface mount boards, making repairs very (or impossible) to do....
the Dolby S IC's are no longer obtainable.     Some of the early surface mount ICs are very difficult to find now.
And Extender Cards for the Audio Cards are impossible to find - meaning any repairs will take hours longer than normal !

Note that there are 2 versions of the G 16 and G24...
The G16 and G24 have three heads... Erase, Record and Repro.     the G16S and G24S have only two heads...
The Erase Head and the Record/Repro combo head....   making audio alignments MUCH MUCH more difficult to do !!!