[Patrick]

Just re-read Philco Phil's explanation of the dim bulb tester, whereas the bulb wattage should be 1 1/2-2 times the radio's wattage. Should have read that before I asked the question, but maybe other people can benefit from this as well. So ideally I should have used a 200-300 watt bulb. Or just power up slowly with the variac, watching the ammeter, since at 120V, and 130 watts, it should draw 1.08 amps. It was playing fine, but weak, at 90V with the dim bulb tester in the circuit.