Latest General Lee vs. previous version

Got a new General Lee a few months ago. It's got blue LEDs stock and the 10K switch has been replaced with a dimmer switch for the LEDs.

My older Gen Lee has the front mic plug and 10K switch.

My first question is have they improved the receiver as far as noise reduction?

My older unit would pick up A LOT more noise and really irritating was this noise would start about 40 mph and continue on upwards.
It is nice and quiet w/o any accessories on and parked.
The new one doesn't pick up this road speed interference at all! Same wiring, antenna, just plug and play swapping radios. New one seems generally less noise overall. I love that.

What I don't like is the missing 10K switch which leads to my second question. Can the dimmer switch be removed or converted to a 10K switch?
The dang LEDs are so freakin bright at night anyway I need a resistor to permanently dim them.