ORIGINAL: osterizer

Absolutely- it's an FM datalink; not going into a bunch of details, it's vulnerable to radio noise to a degree even with the radio on, but if you turn the transmitter off it can hook up to any other signal on the air, which as likely or not can flip the servos around, start the motor, or any other random thing. When the tx is on it transmits a carrier that the receiver can lock onto and not respond to those other influences (like listening closely to one person when you're in a noisy, crowded room), but if you don't have the transmitter on then all bets are off. Turn the tx on before you plug in the battery, and unplug the battery before you turn the transmitter off.