[Richard Amirault]

"Dude Japan" wrote ...

$100? that's crazy for a switch! I guess I'll settle for a simple
switch. Is there nothing else?

Mike Rivers wrote:
You want a Variac.

A Variac is *not* a "switch". It's a large, heavy variable transformer type
of unit. It will *not* fit in your wall, but has to stand alone on a table.

The word you were thinking about is "rheostat" .. which was an early form of
dimmer that has/had no "electronics" of any kind. What is sold nowadays are
electronic dimmers .. and that's what give the interference problem.

By the way .. you wern't specific .. about the "noise" that is bugging you.
Many modern dimmers produce electrical or radio interference. At first I
thought this is what you meant, but are you saying that the dimmer makes
noise you can hear directly with your ears?

If the latter I would just try different models until you found one that
doesn't make an audible noise.

--
Richard Amirault N1JDU Boston,
MA, USA
n1jdu.org "Go Fly A Kite"