Lee:

One reason most guys check the 10X with the antenna off is that's the way Horizon described range checking in one of their catalogs/hints and tips mags a year or two ago.....

Practicality becomes an issue with the 2500 + ft checks.......

Never had a problem with hundreds of giant scale vibrator flights with electronic ignitions, as well as turbines, even the old noisy 2.0 JetCat ECU software, over the last 5-6 years using a 10X and the simple 300 ft, antenna-off method, holding the TX at arms length like Horizon suggests, plane on the ground or on a non-metallic structure(I often use a PVC mount about 3 feet off the ground).......check all 4 quadrants if antenna is mounted inside the plane.....probably less critical to do a 360 check with a vertical...

As far as tweaking the RX and TX, good idea, but once again, most guys don't have the gear to do it at home, and are often hesistant to send their TX/RX back to Horizon or Radio South unless something really is wrong, like a totally dead RX, or after a crash.....


Tom