[jcassity]

i got er done, a few pics and a couple vids.

use the needle mechanism from a cheap meter
read its resistance.
insert in series with your B+ main feeder.
power up and observe if the needle pegs out or it does not move.
determine on your own if you need to add a series or parallel resistor to your needle part.

in m case, the needle part reads 348 ohms.
in order to gain control of the needle i had to calibrate down to 4.7ohms.

radio powers up....
needle pegs out 
then it starts to come down to the scale and follow the signal strength.

i used the multi meter ohms graduations on my reused clear cover to help denote signal strength.

the meter i used was 10$.

this method should work with any radio using any cheap analog multi meter.

basically all you are doing is rigging up an "ammeter" cause when your in series with the battery+,