Soldering stations - OKi-Metcal, Pace or something else?

Hi guys, Well, we've got a thread on desoldering kit, so I'm going to start one on soldering stations... :) It seems my love-hate relationship with my Antex 660TC soldering station has finally become one of almost pure hate. I sat down to assemble a couple of DiscFerret boards tonight, and after about 40 minutes the handle of the iron was too hot to hold. Tried again with the other iron, same story. If I hold it any further back, then the whole thing is completely out of balance... So I figure it's time for a change. Hopefully to something which won't try and roast my fingers. I've narrowed my choices down to two manufacturers -- OKi-Metcal and Pace. This is basically because they're the only two "professional" brands Farnell carry (I did look at some of the Weller soldering stations but they don't look much better than the Antex). I'm looking for something that'll suit SMD work -- ideally one which has "mini-wave" soldering iron bits (aka "hoof" bits) easily available, and is designed for lead-free work. I do run an SnPb line as well, though I'm slowly phasing it out (once I run out of 60-40 solder, which might take a while...!) At the moment the front-runners are: - Pace WJS100 (with TD-100 and Instant Set-Back aka auto-standby). Not overly keen on this one, seems overpriced when compared to other Pace kit (especially when you consider that the WJS only works with certain soldering bits and one type of handpiece) - Pace ST50 + TD100. Seems about the same as the WJS100, but will run the tweezer handpiece and a wider variety of bits. Catch is, I'd have to special-order this from Pace UK if I wanted the ISB option (Farnell don't stock the ISB "cubby" / iron stand). - Metcal MFR-1110. Cheaper than the Pace (or so it would seem), cheaper tips. Also seems to have "auto standby" as standard. What concerns me is that it seems to run at a fixed temperature, though OKi/Metcal claim that SmartHeat makes this a non-issue... I'm not convinced... Has anyone used any of the above, or anything similar? Are there any other brands (or other soldering stations from the above manufacturers) that I should look at? Thanks, -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/