However it was easy enough to sit in an armchair with laptop and scanner on a table beside me and run a production line that allowed me to eventually scan over 2500 slides.
The end result was perfectly good enough to view full size on a computer screen. Okay maybe not HD quality but for saving old family pictures more than good enough.
Looks like bingofuel has hit the nail on the head!
Off to search on eBay now, thanks for the input Ppruners.