Forward won't engage or thread on both my dual 8 projectors! Reverse works though.

[Sherry Funke]

Thank for admitting me to this forum, I am hoping someone can solve my problem. With plenty of time on my hands, I thought it would be fun to pull out my father's GAF 2688-Z dual *mm projector to look at some old footage. I was well acquainted with this projector, since I was the family member "in charge" of loading the Super/8mm film for viewing night. However, the self threading mechanism wouldn't work or engage. The lamp goes on, but the gears don't turn, or "click" for the self threading. So I pull out my father-in-law's Anscovision 788 (similar projector, and yes, we have two) and the same thing happens! The reverse clicks, but not the forward.
I have of course taken off the "cap" but I can't see anything that looks broken.
So now I'm thinking there must be something simple that I am not doing here....why would both of them do this?
Help! Please tell me there is something simple going on.... Thanks.

[Janice Glesser]

Hi Sherry and welcome! I no longer have any GAF projectors...but I've had several that I've restored and sold over the years. It very well could be how you are threading the film. First make sure you have the format set correctly on the projector (Std. 8mm or Super 8mm)...then insert the film into the threading slot BEFORE starting the motor.

I show this in a video of a Anscovision Memory Master 2 model projector starting at 1:21... This is how all of these GAF models load.

[Sherry Funke]

Thanks for your reply and sharing this video Janice. Hear that characteristic clicking when you turn on the projector? The forward doesn't do that, just the reverse. So something isn't engaging with those little gears to feed the film. I just thought it was weird that it would have happened with both the projectors. But since they are basically the same, maybe they both have broken in the same place. I'm cross eyed from trying to look for the problem source...!

[Janice Glesser]

Remove the back cover and check the belts. It could be that the motor belt or one of the other belts have stretched so they are not making enough contact with the pulleys that drive the shutter.

Since both projectors are experiencing the same problem and you haven't used these projectors for a long time both could have belt issues.

GAF projectors are also notorious for having a problem with the rubber tires at the top. The tires can disintegrate and not make contact with the pulleys. Belts and tires are sold on eBay.