I hunted, scrounged and patiently assembled my Hakko soldering rig over several weeks. It cost less than $200 US by the time I got it all working, but for what I got that is extremely inexpensive I think.
There's a post about it here:
http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=136.msg3557#msg3557This company is in USA so probably not on your list anyways, but it's just chinese cheap import stuff and I'm sure the same stuff is sold somewhere near you:
http://store.sra-solder.com/index.phpThis cheap stuff looks good for the price, and I found the parts to be almost perfectly interchangeable with Hakko, but it is
definitely NOT Hakko quality. It's billed to be temperature control and it doesn't even have a temperature sensor, so be very cautious when buying clones. Prolly better than a hack iron from the local department store. But having used the good stuff now, I can tell the difference in terms of how well it works immediately, which means something less will not perform as well.
I would recommend the obvious, which is to get the best soldering equipment you can afford, or maybe spend even a little more than you can afford. It just makes you feel warm & fuzzy to use the good tools.
P.S. Oh, yea. Your mileage may vary, but I have never needed two soldering handpieces and don't know when having the two would actually come in handy. Guys with better skills can speak to that. One really nice soldering station and a Hakko 808 might be a good way to go.
