Thanks for the reply's so far.

After reading through some of the pinrepair guides, it seems the display issue is common and is quite possibly a fairly cheap fix.

I see on ebay i can get a new rottendog power supply board delivered for around AU$200.  I guess my concern is that i need to find out what blew it in the 1st place and really have no idea where to start, although i would assume the problem would have to be before the power supply board if it blew it - and the fact with the board disconnected it is tripping the house safety switch.