I finally got out today to do a range test with the xbees, but it was almost dark.  Here is a short video:

We found that our RHCP antennas (right hand circular polarization – not red hot chili peppers) did quite well.  Doyle walked half a mile out, stuck the antenna in the grass and I never received a signal level lower than 80%.  This is a good start, but we were at 1/40th of our expected range on launch day.  We will do more tests soon.  In the video you will see a perl script running.  I will devote a post to this soon.