I managed to free up the vu meter by adjusting the pivot bearing , less than a quarter turn out was sufficient to stop it from binding , I have audio at the output , but still no deflection on the meter . 4mm bananna plugs for output signal , I'll rig up a cable tomorrow and give it a listen . It doesnt have the hefty build quality of the Bruel &Kjaer 2203 ,but it is still a high quality instrument , runs off a single 1.5v A cell .