Today I followed the various threads and posts hereon, and replaced my antenna mast. It was surprisingly easy, amounting to only inserting the end of the antenna cord into the base of the antenna and turning on the radio. Everything works fine EXCEPT that the antenna is not pulled quite down when the radio is turned off, instead, leaving two or three inches of antenna sticking up, which is an invitation for another SOB to come along and snap or cut the antenna, which was happened to the original one.
Any suggestions on how to get the antenna to completely retract will be greatly appreciated.