Hi, I'm new to the forum and R/C in general so please bear with me

Just wondering if anyone's had the same problem that I've had and what their experiences and fixes were. My radio control transmitter had heavy duty AA batteries and they were working fine until they ran out naturally. When I replaced them with Duracell alkaline batteries, the car wouldn't respond, or rather would only respond to throttle / steering when I went right up to it pointing the antenna at it. I've changed the batteries in the car as well but to no avail.

I've checked the control, made sure the antenna was screwed in tight and everything seems fine with it. Nothing's changed other than the fact that I switched to alkaline batteries. This is really weird.

Could anyone please help with any suggestions? I have a gas powered 1/16 Piktor Miwi. Thanks in advance.