Hello all.
Bought STM D/C 4502 today (Feb 29th 2004); so far of course, nothing, but I wish I had found this site before I made my purchase.
I also own a Meridian Gold and figured the STM would be a good unit to allow my hiking buddies to handle.
I have noticed, as someone else pointed out, that the screws appear far too big for their mounts which would definitely be the cause of unwanted materials expansion.