Hello RCTech Forum,
The transceiver is used in a device called a Kite Messenger (KM) drop.


This is a line drawing of the Kite Messenger
(Would not let me post line drawing.)
Have seen several of these over the years. They all had mechanical releases. This kite messenger (KM) uses a radio-controlled servo to release the payload, a stuffed animal or a bag of candy and the sail. With the sail released, the KM slides back down the kite line where it can be sent up again.
The system has been tested and works reliably with one defect.
The transceiver system was tested on the ground to almost 200 meters or two football fields. But when the KM was tested in the air, as it is designed to be deployed on a kite line,
about twenty meters was the farthest the system would operate reliably. It has been suggested that on the ground the radio signal reflects off of the
ground and objects, buildings and trees. But in the air the radio signal dissipates and does not travel as far.
The transceiver used is
QIAChip 433 mhz single channel Transceiver
Research on increasing the range indicates two elements: the antenna and the receiver power supply
Was able to increase the range from twenty to thirty meters by drilling a hole in the electronic release case and pulling the antenna out of the case and
extended the antenna along the length of the KM backbone. The antenna supplied with the QIAChip transceiver is about six inches or 150 millimeters long.
A coil, about 10 mm or 3/8" in diameter was created using bare 22 ga wire and the end wrapped several times around the antenna.
This did not increase the range much at all.
So it is asked: Is there a device that can be made or purchased that would increase the efficiency of the receiver?

The other method discovered by research is to increase the power supply of the receiver. (This is a bit counterintuitive to me because it was thought that the way to
increase the range would eb to increase the power of the transmitter, the thing sending the signal. But everything read so far talks about
increasing the power of the reciever.) The QIAChip receiver uses a 3.7 volt battery to send a a signal to an Arduino Beetle by DFRobot. The servo S90 is activated
and told how many degrees to turn by a signal from the Beetle. The receiver will take up 24 volts and the Beetle will take up to 8 volts so a 7.4 volt
battery is contemplated. Is this a productive approach.

Is there another way or ways of increasing the range? Is there a more powerful transceiver that could be used? Surely there must be because you RC airplane
guys fly thousands of meters. But within the parameters of a single channel system that is fairly small and light weight, what is available.

Thanks

Allen Pitts
Dallas, Texas

Get a Radiometrix system. They have a "high power" 25mW transmitter that can reach over 10.000km at a low bitrate.
http://www.radiometrix.com/