8-weeks? Ouch! (I’ve never used BatchPCB before). In that case, Olimex is a good option for small amounts - 30 euro ($US43) for about 24 square inches, and lead time is about 5 days + shippping (or longer if you have tracks less than 0.01").
http://olimex.com/pcb/index.html
For larger amounts, Gold Phoenix (with their $US89 / 100 sq inch or $US99 for 155 sq inch special) is fantastic value.
http://www.goldphoenixpcb.biz/special_price.php
I just received my last order from them, and got double the quantity of boards I was expecting! The quality is great. The only complaint was that they allow a maximum of 6 differrent PCB designs per panel - otherwise they won’t route out the boards at all! At least they told me about it, and I was able to reduce the number of board designs to 6. Still, it seemed a strange rule, since I was happy to pay extra to put 2 more designs on the panel…
Lead time was for the RF2500, not the boards. 
Looks like I’ll use Olimex in the future though. Thanks for the advice.
I’m not certain what soldering you are practicing for. The boards even have a LED on them that you can use. As far as I can see, they are a complete solution. Unless you want a nicer 5mm LED, then you can solder that and the resister right to the header pads provided. Nothing tough.
@TheDirty: Soldering in general. I still suck at it, and have never done it properly. As for this particular project (I’m currently working on others), it’s just gonna depend. Since hers is gonna be encased in [this and mine in [this, I’ll just have to see.](Medium Blue Translucent Acrylic Laser Cutting - Used By Apple - FREE Sample)](Red Translucent Acrylic Laser Cutting - Used By Apple - FREE Sample)
Brett, I don’t suppose you’re in Australia? If so, I’d be willing to sell you my (unused) RF2500 dev kit.
I don’t know if I’d ever use it, as I have gone with Atmel’s AT86RF212 instead (it has better sensitivity, and also operates in the 900MHz band, which has lower propagation loss).
If you’re in the USA, just get it from Newark, who currently have 7 in stock:
http://www.newark.com/texas-instruments … dp/55M5474
Dang! No, unfortunately, not in Australia. But thanks anyway.
I would order from Newark, but I’ve already placed my Avnet order and guess what: They won’t let you cancel. Bastards…
just an idea if you still have time to decide
may be… you can buy from LINX Technologies
TXM-315-LR and RXM-433-LR for Person1
RXM-315-LR and TXM-433-LR for Person 2
stick an amplifier on the RSSI pin on the reciever on both persons and add an LED to the output of the amplifier. let the transmitters to be on all the time.
As they work in different frequencies, and with the transmitter running, the RSSI shows signal strength of the carrier. No data needs to be sent.