[TenTec] Omni VI+ S meter troubleshooting

[w3ka at lycos.com]

Phil OM,  

  I had similar issues with my TT Omni 6+.  S meter readings were there
but extremely low. 

On the IF/AF board, there is an S meter adjust pot, R25 a 1K trimmer
control.  Mine was  

sitting on a "dead spot".  Gently rock the pot up and down, (not too
much, just enough to free the dead spot on 

the trimmer).. World great on  my VI+ and resolved the S meter issues. 
Good luck 

                        73,  Jim W3KA

On 2018-11-17 04:41, Phil Erickson wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> I've just acquired an Omni VI+ with all the filters including the Inrad
> roofing filters.  It is very sensitive as far as RF goes on all bands using
> a HP 8640B signal generator as a calibrated source.  However, the S meter
> does not work at all when AGC is enabled (or for that matter, when it
> isn't, although of course AGC should be on to generate a reading).
> 
> I pulled the covers off and examined the IF/AF board.  According to the
> manual section 4-7, the voltage driving the S meter is at connector 58 (a 2
> pin one).  I pulled the connector off and, using a multimeter, was able to
> verify that a correct voltage was there on the pins in the ~200 to 800 mV
> range.  I was able to make that voltage go up and down as expected by
> manipulating  the RF gain, and also by changing the signal generator's
> amplitude.  The R25 and R29 trimmers also made the voltage move up and down
> as expected ("full scale" and "offset').
> 
> So I think the S meter driving circuitry is working fine in RX mode from
> the IF/AF board..
> 
> However, the manual is not clear on how the meter is multiplexed with the
> TX section, which I haven't tried yet as I'd like to get the receiver going
> first.  I tried moving the meter selector knob to a few positions, but of
> course all of those are for when the TX is engaged (FWD, SWR, Ic, PROC) so
> it did not help.
> 
> Does anyone have suggestions?
> 
> 1)  Maybe the meter movement has failed?  If so, does anyone have any tips
> to isolate the meter and drive it with an appropriate voltage to see if the
> needle moves?
> 
> 2)  Is there any other check to see if the meter is somehow not paying
> attention on RX because it's stuck on one of the TX meter settings?
> 
> 3) Are there any other connectors to reseat?
> 
> Thanks in advance -
> 
> 73
> Phil W1PJE