Reception Issues with Verizon (Sprint has full bars)

[ComputerGeek]

I have Verizon and own the vx6900 Touch right now. The reception where I live is very poor (I live in a major city). I get many dropped calls and static. It’s not the phone, since the vx6800 has similar issues where I live. The phone that did the best job was the Blackberry 8830. Just as an FYI, that phone gets really good reception.

My data signal keeps going from EVDO to 1x almost half the time as well. I know that I can buy a repeater or an external antenna. I however do not really want to spend any major additional amount of money. Is there anything else that I can do? I know that when I use an earpiece, I get less dropped calls. This is because I am not blocking the antenna by putting my hand over it. I also tried a vx6800 (Mogul) with different roms, which really did not help in my area.

Does anyone know if Alltel's or Sprint's new leaked rom would help? I know that I can leave Verizon and maybe go to Sprint. I want to stay with Verizon due to their illusion of good customer service. It helps when they at least try to create an illusion. I know that I would get full bars on a Sprint phone, since I tried one out. I might however have worse reception with Sprint when I drive around town. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.