A couple more notes:
-The 15W regular neon had a built-in reflector, which was brightest at a 45 deg angle, beating 4 CCFL tubes. At 0 and 90 deg angle, refer to the results above.
-The UV CCFL tubes got warm very quickly! After about 5 minutes, I held my "stack", and was surprised. I might have to leave them on for an hour to get a more accurate picture here. The neon didn't warm up at all, but I'd have to test that for 1+hour also, just to make sure.
-The 15W neon was purchased at Wall-Wart, for about $25.
-The CCFL's were purchased from
www.svc.com, on special, for 9.99 for one tube plus dual inverter, and an extra 3.99 for the spare tube, for a total of 13.98. Regular price is 14.99 plus 5.99, for a total of 20.98. Double the order (for 4 tubes), the CCFLs come out to 27.96 on special, and 41.96 regular price. The special is still on, but they're out of stock.