Seems to be the general concensus Kaz.

The ones that I saw cheaply on Ebay people from the machine knitting society tell me to steep clear of because they will most likely be missing bits and a novice won't be able to tell. There seems to eb one place that sells them online - new ones that is - so I am currently saving but they are abotu $1000 so I have to save and make sure that I will really use it.