I looked briefly at the datasheet and these do use the Lynx RXM-433-LR-S chip which is a superhet design (the same one Bruce sells). This has a little better sensitivity and a little less noise than a superregenerative receiver like the RWS-434 but, in essence, it's an AM radio receiver and the noise you see in the absence of a signal is equivalent to the noise you hear on an AM radio when it's tuned between stations.
You can make use of the RSSI pin. Connect it to one of the PIC's ADC pins to get a measure of signal strength. You can use this to compare different antennas, etc.
You can also see the output signal using the techniques I've described here.
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