SWTPC TV Typewriter II restoration

Well, I should probably upgrade myself (I still use an old Weller TCP, which has a not particularly accurate thermostat), but I can assure you that even that is a lot nicer than most 'hobbyist grade' irons. To the extent that on the few occasions that I've tried to use a cheap, totally non-thermonstatically-controller iron recently (to save going back to get my Weller), I've had to give up and go and get said unit. You probably mean _UNDERPOWERED_ ! Power is not the same as temperature. For example, my Weller is actually a 45W unit, which sounds rediculously high (after all, many books recomend a 15W iron for PCB work). The problem with too high a power in a non-controlled iron is that it gets too hot. The problem with too little power (in any type of iron) is that it takes too long to heat the joint up, thus getting the rest of the PCB and components hot, causing damage. Try soldering (or worse, desoldering) an IC pin connected to an internal ground plane on a multi-layer PCB and you'll see what I mean -tony