When I started in ham radio 60 years ago, S meters were just a tuning aid. I don’t think in all my experience that I have ever given a signal report based on an S meter reading, in fact I didn’t even realise that my current rig even had one. My reports are always based on a comparison between the background noise and the signal estimated by what is between my ears. Thus S3 is barely audible and anything above 6 or 7 is easy copy. The meter reading can be set to any value you like by knob twiddling. If somebody wants a comparison on different antennas for example then I would use the height of the spike on the panadaptor but I certainly would not rely on its calibration.
73 Richard G3OQT _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
