[scottwkurth]

I'm looking for some advice on a variac. I've been scanning eBay for the last 30 minutes looking at what is available, but I haven't a clue what the difference is between a "good" and a "bad" unit. There seem to be a few inexpensive (cheap?) units from Technipower, Staco, and General Radio.

1. Can anyone give me a sense of what I should be looking for or staying away from?
2. I'm drawn to the units that have both voltage and ampere meters, but how important is an amp meter?

I've got two radios that I'd like to restore and then I'll likely recycle whatever I buy back onto eBay so I'd like something usable without spending too much.

A couple samples of what I've been looking at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Bench-Variac-Variabl...1013wt_881
http://cgi.ebay.com/General-Radio-GR-W20...1632wt_881
Any help would be appreciated!
Scott