One of the cheapest transmitter modules I know are the RFM01 ( receiver ) RFM02 ( transmitter ) RFM12 ( receiver / transmitter switchable ), from Hope RF.
They mut be driven by a little Microcontroller the possible range is about 300m.
( I guess the modules are linked by rjenkinsgb are the same once ).
The documentation of Hope RF is very creepy.
But I guess You'll find a lot of examples for the Modules.
They offer a serial connection between 2 Microcontrollers up to 115200 b/sec.
To use the full range the baudrate should be decreased.
The used channel can be choosen by software, so more of the transmitters can be active the same time.
The driving of the modules can be done in different way's, so You'll always had to had a source code and the according schematic.
A exact handling of the RFM12 You can find
here - Sorry it's in German.