[Amps] What NOT to buy?

[Clint Talmadge]

I joined this reflector because I am considering picking up a project Amplifier in the near future.  The idea is to teach myself amplifiers.  I have only owned one amp in the past, a SB-220 which worked well and I never had the covers off.  What I am looking for is advice on which amps NOT TO BUY.  I know enough not to consider anything with Sweep Tubes or any of the CB amps without tuned output circuitry but beyond that I am clueless.  Not having a vast knowledge of problems to avoid, I am afraid someone will pawn off an unfixable amp on me.  So considering all that, which amp do I run from?

 

Thanks,

Clint - W5CPT