bias supply question / sanity check - adjustable resistor?

[ilted]

Bought a pair of curved panels from russ @ justrealmusic.com a while back, last week started rushing to start and finish the project before an unwanted temporary relocation (something nice to remember while i'm away).

I have a pair of 3200v neon ballasts I got in a kit for some flat ones a long time ago but the new panels are curved and want less voltage. The humidity in this room varies from about 30-90% over the year and they have been sitting new/unused in a basement for the last two years so I would really like an adjustable supply. The problem is I don't have $120+ for a pair of dc-dc regulators from apowerdesign or EMCO (EMCO won't even sell to individuals anymore).

The plan is series a 2kohm resistor with a 1k adjustable resistor like this one:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...me=D50K1K0E-ND
on the input side of the transformer.

Is this going to work? I'm looking for a voltage of ~2000-2500
and don't have a clue how to calculate what the output drop of the neon ballast will be with what input resistance.

Also, The supply takes 0.3 amps, does this mean I need a 36watt (50w) resistor and adjustable resistor?

Can you tell I don't have an electronics background??