Tech America soldering station help

[multi-volti]

Before you all laugh & tell me to buy a real soldering iron, I'll 'one-up' you. You can laugh at me not just for having one, but for losing it in the garage since 1999.

OK, I know I have the option to buy something better, but it's brand new and not broken yet. I bought it in 1999, and moved around 2000 and it got put in the back of the garage and I never saw it again.

I just found it and it's unused with three so-called "5x75 mm" tips which might be nominal measurements.

From what I read about them, Tech America may have been shorter-lived than the life expectancy of the iron..or vice versa, neither being very impressive.

So it might be ambitious to assume the soldering station will outlast the three tips I have, but I was hoping to find out if anyone else made the same mistake of buying one but found out whether there is another source of so-called 5x75 mm tips.

The base has a 5-pin jack for the iron, like many current made-in Asia irons. Maybe I'll get lucky and there is another compatible one. I started taking the base off, but it's not cooperating...like there's a stripped nut inside or something...surprise, surprise. Radio Shack, the brain trust behind Tech America, is not going to be any help with the tips.

Thanks for reading. Hope it made someone's day. If I ever claim I can't locate a part, now you know why. I found a box of New Sensor/Sovtek tubes, sockets & specific resistors stuff I bought for a project I can't identify, but can't find the schematic I think was on the Svetlana site which is now gone.

I guess I can look at the bright side...I bought the stuff with 1999 dollars!

I forgot there are Aussies on the list. I learned from a friend there not to use the term 'stuff' as often, but I'm not going back to change the word in preceding paragraphs... :O)