[DeckApe]

My first piece of test equipment arrived today, the "cheap Chinese" variac that was mentioned in the post that disappeared into the ether. Okay, I don't think for a moment it's a hugely precise piece of gear, but when I dialed it in and set the voltage to 110 on its meter, it read the same on my Sperry portable voltmeter (125v) that plugging the meter into the outlet read (also 125v). I'll remember to not crank it up past 100v, just in case the $15 voltmeter is right. But it appears to give a nice smooth acceleration on the voltage, which is good.