Hi again Dave. I was going to e-mail you off list, but thought this might be of general interest.I have a transparency lid (TMA) for a Mustek flatbed scanner that looks ideal as a diffuse LF enlarger light source. It's a flat panel affair giving an illuminated area of 6x7 inches. The light is absolutely even, as measured with a photometer, and it reaches maximum output in about 10 seconds. After this initial warmup, it can be switched on and off and gives full brightness 'instantly'. All the HV electronics is contained inside the unit, and it works from a simple little 12 volt mains adapter. It's maybe not quite as bright as a proper Cold cathode head, but there's no more than a stop in it. It weighs less than a kilogram.

Sorry, but before you ask Dave, no you can't have mine, I need it. I'm sure Mustek still make them,though. They cost around 50 UK pounds. (I won't try posting a pound sign again, last time I tried it came out like &%34 this.)