[davemc]

Well, the good news is I think I now know the problem.  After viewing the photos on the Phorum, it looks to me that the magnet is MISSING!  There is a shadow on the front of the coil that looks like perhaps something was there but no longer.  Even though it does not appear that the meter has been fooled with or opened.  Can someone confirm that this is the case?  Of course, if that is true, then I guess I will never have a functioning shadow meter.  Again, the symptom is that the shadow will not fill the screen (with no antenna connected), and when the voltage across the coil is varied, only the LEFT side of the shadow moves - the right side does not.  The coil is good, the set has been restored and aligned (at least on the first two bands) and the coil voltage varies between 6 and 15 volts.
   
There is also a chunk of the coil bobbin missing on the back of the coil, exposing the winding.  That, at least, appears fixable.  I guess my next move (if the missing magnet is confirmed) is a classified ad.