ORIGINAL: Angus Balfour
Normal wires + internal aerial = Range 35 paces
Normal wires + external aerial up to the fin = 45 paces
Normal wires + whip antenna = >180 paces
Have not tried twisted wires yet.
Have you tried replacing those servos of yours that are in the tail? With the external antenna running outside the fuse going to the rudder you should get the same amount of range as the whip antenna. I suspect some major interference coming from those servos in the tail that are affecting the antenna running to the rudder because of the close proximity.