Radio Relay Links: How it works, how to configure relay links

Relaying it's a software configuration that you can use in Ruby in order to relay the radio links (including live video, telemetry, data) to drones/planes/UAVs that are not reachable otherways with a direct radio link.


A direct radio link between a controller and a drone/plane/UAV can be impossible to establish in some situations where there are big obstructions in the way or the distance is too big, as in the pictures below:

A radio link can not be established if line of sight is obstructed by big massive objects.

A radio link can not be established when the distance is too big.

That's where relay radio links come into picture: they allow to extend the range or coverage of a radio link between a controller and a target drone/plane/UAV, as in the pictures below:

Adding a relay node allows to establish a radio link if line of sight is obstructed by big massive objects.

Adding a relay node, or multiple relay nodes, allows to establish a radio link when the distance is too big.

Relaying is done using a software configuration, everything is already supported in Ruby and no additional special hardware is required. If you have a Ruby controller and 2 or more drones/planes/UAVs that are already paired with the controller, then you can enable and use the relay functionality rightaway:



Note: On the drones/planes/UAVs that you configure as relay nodes you do need to connect multiple radio interfaces to them so that the relay nodes can establish multiple, paralel, radio links with the controller, other relay nodes and the destination drone/plane/UAV.

Related articles:
Radio Links: How they work