Bob John wrote:

The dealer informed me the price had once again gone up and they
are now $289.99. Add to this amount the sales tax, auto-controller and
mount and you are way over $600.00. This is more then I paid for my
FT-100D, which I purchased new. At this point in time, the Hustler antenna
is working fine and I don't have to worry about theft.

Why not build your own? Screwdrivers are not all that hard to build frankly
although they do take some patience and skill. The auto-controller or at
least similarly based items also have been described in QST for less than
you seem to be paying, and as for a mount, well, I suggest you get the 2000
WorldRadio CD which features Don Johnson's books for a description of how
to build your own mount. The same "books" also describe how to build a
working screwdriver antenna. Scaled down, you can build the equivalent of
the Little Tarheel.