I have been using these parts to achieve usable transmission of data over about 80 metres.
http://www.robotshop.com/433mhz-high-sensitivity-transmitter-receiver-pair-rxa33.html
I am, so far, using simple 1/4 wave whip antennas, although I have designed and built a folded dipole and 5 element yagi for experimenting.
I am using VirtualWire as a data transmission protocol. This is important, as it is designed to match the capabilities of the radios.
I am using a very low bit-rate -- 1,000 baud. I am not 100% sure I need to go this slow, but my application is not sensitive to how fast I can transfer data.
It works pretty reliably and it's cheap.