I bought the display PCB from Pinled (even though it has surface mounted chips) because (A) nobody else has them
and (B) surface mount chips are fine on a signal board.
I would NEVER even consider using surface mount driver parts/transistors/mosfets for anything I design.
That really is dumb and only suitable for the mass produced market like printers and such that will go in the bin in 2 years.
I like the look of the Rottendog boards a lot and think they have done the right thing using standard parts BUT also upgrading the driver transistors to mosfets (conventional through hole parts) - this really is very clever and will ensure reliability for many years and makes them easily repairable.
So if these Pinled power driver boards aren't worth investing in?? 
What other options do I have?? Most my Williams/Bally pins run the A-12697-3 type boards 
Are secondhand boards easy to find, my guess most collectors are hanging on to these original spare boards these days??
