Abstract A system is described which can handle high input rates and provide very short read-out times. The delay element is a twisted-pair cable. ECL 10k circuitry is used throughout, part of which is hybridized. The non-destructive and fast read-out makes the system attractive for experiments with data pre-processing. Typical read-out time is ⋍120 ns per coded 16-bit data word. One crate contains a maximum of 704 channels, and up to 16 crates may be chained on a branch. Further expansion is possible by the use of several branches. Additional modules provide for the following: reading of multiple branches, multiple outputs of processed data, reading of several systems via one CAMAC interface, normalized data for chamber and cluster identification, and burst buffering.