Octopus – The Weekender

Before smartphones, we would have laughed at the idea of carrying around a single device that included several unrelated gadgets. I love it when companies in the past combined various items into a single device. That’s precisely what Hendren Enterprises did in 1983 with the Octopus, also known as The Weekender: a single $75 device that contained a 110 camera, AM/FM radio with a telescoping antenna, flashlight, stopwatch, and clock with an alarm.

The Weekender requires an array of batteries: the camera flash requires two AAs, the flashlight and radio require three AAs each, and the clock requires a single SR44/LR44. Unfortunately, upon inspecting mine, I found a moderate amount of corrosion where the three AAs had been. After cleaning things up and inserting fresh batteries, the flashlight worked, but the radio was dead. I suspected the corrosion had spread beyond the contacts and into the wiring. The Weekender was not designed to be taken apart, as the compartment next to the battery is held together with one-way screws. At this point, I figured I had nothing to lose, so I used my Dremel to cut the plastic around the screws.

With The Weekender open, I was able to remove the 110 camera. To my surprise, it turned out to be an off-the-shelf 110 camera branded as an Ansco 600. The camera has foam attached to one end to ensure a snug fit inside the plastic case of The Weekender. There are simple cutouts in the plastic case to access the back of the camera, flash, and batteries.

I decided the best way to test the radio was to use a separate AA battery holder and wire it to the radio where the original batteries were connected. Sadly, the radio didn’t work. I spent an hour or so tinkering, but eventually accepted defeat and put everything back together. If you’d like to see some actual photos taken with The Octopus Weekender, check out Photo Jottings.