Relay Bridge
Relay connects a Radio group to a Flaresat online group so that messages, pins, routes, and areas sync automatically, in both directions, between the radio mesh and the internet.
What it does​
When Relay is active, a bridge device (your phone, connected to both the mesh via Bluetooth and the internet via cell/Wi-Fi) acts as a live gateway:
| Direction | What syncs |
|---|---|
| Mesh → Online | Messages, pins, routes, areas from radio devices appear live in the linked online group |
| Online → Mesh | Cloud messages and map items are transmitted over radio to all radio-only devices |
Everyone stays on the same map, whether they have internet or not.
Setting up Relay​
- Open the Radio group you want to bridge.
- Tap Menu (☰) in the command bar, then tap Settings.
- Scroll to the Cloud Relay section.
- Your online groups are listed, tap the one you want to link (you must already be a member of it).
- Confirm the bridge in the dialog. Relay activates immediately.
The bridge device must remain connected to both Bluetooth (radio device) and the internet for sync to continue. If the connection drops, relay resumes automatically when both are restored.
How deduplication works​
Multiple members can run the bridge simultaneously without creating duplicate map items or message loops. Flaresat uses a deterministic ID derived from each item's cloud ID, so all bridge devices produce the same mesh ID for the same cloud document, deduplication happens at the network level.
- Items older than 30 seconds at mount time are skipped to avoid replaying history.
- Cloud-originated packets are tagged so they are never re-relayed back to the cloud.
Unlinking a group​
To stop Relay:
- Tap Menu (☰) then Settings on the Radio group.
- Tap Unlink Online Group.
- Confirm. Sync stops immediately.
Existing items that were already synced remain in both groups, unlinking does not delete anything.
Tips​
- Keep one bridge device active if possible. Multiple bridges work, but one is enough.
- The bridge device does not need to be a dedicated device, any member can run it from their phone as long as they stay connected to both the radio device and the internet.
- Relay works for all item types: text messages, pins, routes, and areas. Voice notes are not relayed.
- Style changes (color, icon, label edits) and deletions are also synced bidirectionally.