Once I tried my first Metcal MX-500 series iron, I never went back. With proper tip selection and technique, the same pencil iron will work for anything from 0201 components to PL-259 connectors. And it heats up and stabilizes in under 30 seconds from a cold start after a tip swap. I've spent a lot of hours swapping 0201 and 0402 inductors and caps with a pair of Metcal irons and a microscope while tuning up GPS receiver front ends in my day job.
-- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <n...@nf6x.net> http://www.nf6x.net/
