That's weird about the distance. I can go all around my house and no cutting out. I bought mine used off of this sites marketplace and it does have an antenna mod on it so the antenna is now strait up in the air. That may help your distance. As for your crystals, Just try to remove the broken piece and you should be able to go to your LHS and get a new crystal or crystal set. they are fairly cheap..
Keep me updated on how it goes or if it is all set now bud..... I'm new here too...
Best of luck!