where are my helpers??

Hi again,

Sorry to do this, but I need some more assistance. You may not know of
the brands I'm writing about but maybe you've also experienced some of
the same problems.

There's a German brand of soldering iron...from the ESRA Group...it's
rather expensive as irons go...(at least to my budget)...there's a
Turkish 'copy' that I purchased at about 1/2 the price.
(I should have known, right???)...

Anyway, the 150w iron that I purchased came with a copper tip...it's
just not satisfactory and no one seems to know what a sal ammoniac
block is (or maybe i just haven't found the right people to ask)
so I opted to purchase an iron tip that's supposed to be compatible
with both brands. well, guess what? it won't fit ...it's probably been
made 1mm wider at the base only so that it can't be used in other
irons....smart Germans...bad for me...

so the question is...can i file down this 1mm to make the tip fit in my
turkish copy iron?? or will it render it unusable?

and while i have your undivided attention...what is an 'analog
soldering iron'?? it appears to be a 'lightweight iron' with a
thermostat control..(rhea stat?)

it's very very expensive...over $300...it's only an 80 watt...is it
worth the expenditure?

the 150 watt iron i have now is just so heavy, i can't believe it. i
don't see that i'll be able to do any soldering of more than 30 minutes
at a time...my hand goes numb!!!

i STILL want a Hexacon...but haven't had any luck finding one that
works on 210-220 current.

any ideas?

arlene