Which "Radio only" upgrade should I use? - Mogul, XV6800 ROM Development

I have an Alltel 6800 with the stock WM6 ROM and Radio version 1.40. While I like the idea of using DCD's ROM, and its features, I have heard a few concerns, so I am going to stick with the stock ROM for now. I have seen, however many new upgrades for the radio only. I currently have 1.40 and I have found version 1.47.51 and 1.59 and 2.13 and 3.27. I would like to upgrade my radio only, and not the entire ROM/OS.
I can not be without the phone, so turning it into a brick isn't an option.
1. Does any one have any experience with these other versions of the RADIO only?
2. Would I gain any advantage by upgrading the radio from verison 1.40 to one of these? ( I'm leaning towards upgrading to 1.47.51 )
3. Would I need to contact Alltel to reconfigure it or enable it somehow?
4. Is it worth doing and risking something going wrong?
Thanks for your help and observations.

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you can't use any of the 2.xx or 3.xx dcd roms without the radio upgrade you'll want the radio upgrade to 3.27 for gps ;-)

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Before you upgrade your Radio, I would be sure it will work with Alltels service. I have Verizon, and i accidentally flashed the Sprint 3.27 Radio to my phone, and it took me a while to find the Verizon 3.27 Radio. My phone was configured to Sprints network, therefore it would not work.
Another thing to remember, make sure you make note of your A-Key (I don't remember how to make a note of it, I think you go into the phone config menu by dialing ##778, go to view info, and A-Key). I just checked my phones A-Key, and its blank.
When I upgraded my radio, I had to call Verizon tech support (I got a recording to dial #8899 which took me to their tech support), and I had the guy update my A-Key (Authentication Key - the recording said my phone could not be authenticated, so I guess this key does that).
-Paul

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Now that I think about it, you may be able to use any 3.27 Radio, you will just need to configure the A-Key.
Here is the link to the 3.27 Radio post. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=362563
Make sure you make a note of what is asked in the first post. If for some reason your phone doesn't make calls afterwards, call Alltel and ask them to update your A-Key. Just say you did a hard reset, and the phone is not making calls.

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I know that the old radio won't work on the new ROM, but will the new radio work on the old ROM??

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I can't say for sure, but I think it should since there are a lot of new ROMs out there, and they should all work with the Radio. I don't think you need a new ROM to use the new Radio, but I know you need the new Radio to use the new ROM.

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including the gps drivers causes the phone to freeze on the splash screen with any radio other than 3.27.00.
(read: non-gps roms need a radio 1.30.00 - 1.47.01. gps roms need 3.27.00)
there is only one 3.27.00 radio, there are no carrier specific versions of radios. if you are using a non-gps rom and just want the newest radio, just flash it, nothing to reprogram.
1.47.01 did not properly report roaming for me and seemed slower to connect. i use 1.40.00 with non-gps roms.
1.17.00 was from sprint rom prerelease
1.30.00 was from verizon rom release
1.32.00 was from sprint 2.08 rom release
1.40.00 was from alltel 2.14 rom release
1.47.00 was from sprint 2.16 rom release
1.47.01 was from sprint 2.17 rom release
2.06.0D was taken from a vogue rom im not sure of
2.13.00 was taken from bell vogue 1.17 rom release
3.27.00 enables GPS and rev a and came from sprint 3.16 rom
hope this helps

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dcd1182 said:
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there is only one 3.27.00 radio, there are no carrier specific versions of radios. if you are using a non-gps rom and just want the newest radio, just flash it, nothing to reprogram.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying that the 3.27 radio works properly with the 2.17 ROM and the old bootloader?

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and the $64K question, is there any advantage in upgrading the radio only? Better reception, better roaming, better EVDO holding and not droppping back to 1X, things like that?

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bakntyme said:
Are you saying that the 3.27 radio works properly with the 2.17 ROM and the old bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, 3.27.00 only works with a rom using 3.16 nk.exe and oemdrivers.

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bakntyme said:
dcd1182 said:
...
there is only one 3.27.00 radio, there are no carrier specific versions of radios. if you are using a non-gps rom and just want the newest radio, just flash it, nothing to reprogram.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying that the 3.27 radio works properly with the 2.17 ROM and the old bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dcd1182 said:
no, 3.27.00 only works with a rom using 3.16 nk.exe and oemdrivers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, wanted to clarify that...I read what you said about the newest radio and non-gps ROM as applying to the 3.27 radio...when you said "just flash it", you were referring to a 1.xx radio, not the 3.27 from the previous sentence. Thanks!

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bakntyme said:
when you said "just flash it", you were referring to a 1.xx radio, not the 3.27 from the previous sentence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, sorry about that

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I've been using the 2.13 radio listed by dcd on the xv6800 with a non-gps rom. I find it more stable, better sounding and with no bluetooth drops, than either the stock 1.30 that it came with, or the 1.40 radio that many were using before the gps roms became available.
I also flashed back to this after doing the 3.27 radio upgrade with a gps rom. Just had too many issues with the radio, so I'm waiting for a newer (better???) radio version to try again.