Looks like this is a brand new product just released in the last couple of months. I've been using the older BDL168 boards on my layout and they have worked just fine for me. This new board appears to combine several functions into one (circuit protection, block detection, and transponder). So that might be more cost effective. The newer board's screw terminals will certainly be easier than the soldering required for the older boards. If I were to be just buying my equipment today, I'd probably use this.
What length of wire are you expecting you'd need for your layout from this board to your track? The instruction sheet doesn't mention any length limitations. They do recommend fairly heavy gauge wire which I would follow if you have a large layout. If you expect to need more than one of these boards, you can put them geographically close to the areas they hook up to to minimize wire lengths. I also found with my computer control software that I don't need the blocks to be contiguously numbered as you go around the layout, so this can help minimize wire length too if you use more than one board.
Mark
