mcp-server-pskreporter

PSK Reporter MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides real-time amateur radio propagation data from PSKReporter via Claude Desktop.

Features

• Real-time Propagation Data: Collect live spots from amateur radio stations worldwide
• Advanced Filtering: Filter by band, mode, callsign, location, and country
• DXCC Entity Support: Full country/territory mapping with intelligent name variations
• MCP Resource: Discover available countries and their common variations
• Threaded Architecture: Non-blocking MQTT collection for responsive performance

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.13 or higher
• uv package manager
• Claude Desktop application

Setup

1. Clone or download this repository

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd mcp-server-pskreporter
   

2. Install dependencies with uv

   uv sync
   

3. Choose your installation method:

   Option A: Development Mode (For direct command usage)

   uv pip install -e .
   

   This installs the package in development mode in the local virtual environment, making the pskreporter-mcp-server command available within this project's environment. Use this if you want to run the command directly from the project directory.

   Option B: Project-based execution (For Claude Desktop - No installation needed)

   uv run --project . pskreporter-mcp-server
   

   This runs the server directly from the project directory without installation. This is what Claude Desktop uses by default.

4. Verify the server works

   If you used Option A (development mode):

   # Make sure you're in the project directory
   pskreporter-mcp-server
   

   If you used Option B (project-based):

   uv run --project . pskreporter-mcp-server
   

   The server should start and be ready to accept MCP connections.

Adding to Claude Desktop

Method 1: Using Configuration File (Recommended)

1. Copy the configuration file to Claude Desktop's configuration directory:

   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Update the path in claude_desktop_config.json to match your system:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "pskreporter": {
         "command": "uv",
         "args": ["run", "--project", "C:\\Users\\rokhm\\git\\mcp-server-pskreporter", "pskreporter-mcp-server"],
         "env": {}
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Restart Claude Desktop

Note: The claude_desktop_config.json file in this repository is pre-configured for the current path. If you move the project, update the path in the --project argument accordingly.

Method 2: Using Claude Desktop UI

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Go to Settings → MCP Servers
3. Click Add Server
4. Configure the server:
   • Name: pskreporter
   • Command: uv
   • Arguments: run --project C:\Users\rokhm\git\mcp-server-pskreporter pskreporter-mcp-server
   • Working Directory: C:\Users\rokhm\git\mcp-server-pskreporter (your project folder)
5. Click Save

Method 3: Alternative Commands

You can also run the server using these alternative methods:

Direct Python execution:

python -m pskreporter_mcp_server

Using uv run:

uv run pskreporter-mcp-server

Development mode:

uv run mcp dev pskreporter_mcp_server.py

Usage

Once connected to Claude Desktop, you can use these tools and resources:

get_spots Tool

Collect real-time amateur radio propagation spots with filtering options.

Parameters:

• band: Amateur radio band (e.g., "20m", "40m", "80m", "160m", "10m", "15m", "17m", "30m", "12m", "6m", "2m")
• mode: Operating mode (e.g., "FT8", "FT4", "CW", "SSB", "PSK31", "RTTY")
• sendercall: Specific station callsign (e.g., "W9KM", "JA1ABC")
• receivercall: Callsign of receiving station
• senderlocator: Maidenhead grid locator of sending station (e.g., "EN51", "JO20")
• receiverlocator: Maidenhead grid locator of receiving station
• sendercountry: Country name for sender's country (e.g., "Japan", "USA", "Germany")
• receivercountry: Country name for receiver's country
• duration: Collection time in seconds (5-30, default: 10)

Country Name Features:

• Case-insensitive: "japan", "JAPAN", "Japan" all work the same
• Partial matching: "swains" matches "Swains I.", "korea" matches "Republic of Korea"
• Common variations: "USA", "UK", "Germany" are automatically mapped to their full names
• 340+ entities: Full DXCC entity support for worldwide coverage

Examples:

• "Show me FT8 activity on 20m from Japan"
• "Find USA stations on 40m"
• "What bands is W9KM operating on?"
• "Show me stations from Germany on 80m"

dxcc_entities Resource

Discover available countries and their variations for better filtering.

Resource Features:

• Complete Entity List: All 340 DXCC entities with official names
• Name Variations: Common variations for each country (e.g., "USA" for "United States of America")
• Usage Examples: Ready-to-use examples for the get_spots tool
• Search Tips: Guidance for effective country name usage

How to Use:

• Browse all available countries and territories
• See common variations for each country
• Get exact names to use in get_spots parameters
• Discover new DXCC entities you might not know about

Example Resource Data:

{
  "code": "291",
  "name": "United States of America",
  "name_variations": ["United States", "USA", "US", "America"]
}

Country Name Discovery

The dxcc_entities resource provides comprehensive country information:

• Official Names: Use exact DXCC entity names for best results
• Common Variations: Popular abbreviations and alternative names
• Case Flexibility: All names work regardless of capitalization
• Partial Matching: Find countries even with incomplete names

Popular Examples:

• United States: "USA", "US", "America", "United States of America"
• United Kingdom: "UK", "Great Britain", "Britain", "England"
• Germany: "Germany", "Deutschland", "DE"
• Japan: "Japan" (no common variations)
• Swains Island: "Swains", "Swains I.", "Swains Island"

Data Source

This server connects to the PSKReporter MQTT feed at mqtt.pskreporter.info to retrieve live propagation data from amateur radio stations worldwide.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Server won't start

   • Ensure Python 3.13+ is installed
   • Ensure uv is installed: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
   • Check dependencies are installed: uv sync

2. No spots collected

   • Increase the duration parameter (up to 30 seconds)
   • Use broader filters (fewer parameters)
   • Check your internet connection

3. Country name not found

   • Use the dxcc_entities resource to find exact country names
   • Try common variations (e.g., "USA" instead of "United States of America")
   • Check for typos and try partial matches

4. Claude Desktop can't connect

   • Verify the path in claude_desktop_config.json is correct
   • Ensure the server starts successfully when run manually: uv run pskreporter-mcp-server
   • Check Claude Desktop logs for error messages

5. "File not found" errors

   • Make sure the working directory points to the folder containing pskreporter_mcp_server.py
   • Verify all project files are in the same directory

6. "program not found" or "Failed to spawn" errors

   • If you get "Failed to spawn 'pskreporter-mcp-server' caused by: program not found" when running the command directly, you need to install the package in development mode:

     uv pip install -e .
     

   • After installation, the pskreporter-mcp-server command will be available within the project's virtual environment
   • Note: Claude Desktop uses uv run --project which doesn't require installation - the provided claude_desktop_config.json works without any additional setup

Debug Information

The server creates a debug log file mcp_server_debug.log with detailed information about:

• MQTT connection status
• Spot collection progress
• Country name resolution
• Error messages and stack traces

Development

This project uses uv for dependency management. Key commands:

• uv sync - Install dependencies
• uv run pskreporter-mcp-server - Run the server
• uv run --project C:\Users\rokhm\git\mcp-server-pskreporter pskreporter-mcp-server - Run from any directory
• python -m pskreporter_mcp_server - Run as Python module

Configuration

Claude Desktop Configuration

The claude_desktop_config.json file is pre-configured to use uv run --project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pskreporter": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--project", "C:\\Users\\rokhm\\git\\mcp-server-pskreporter", "pskreporter-mcp-server"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Key points:

• Uses uv run --project command for direct project execution
• --project argument points to the local project directory
• No pre-installation required (uv handles dependencies automatically)
• The executable name is pskreporter-mcp-server (with hyphens)

DXCC Entities Configuration

The server uses a YAML-based configuration for DXCC entities (dxcc_entities.yaml) that provides:

• Easy Maintenance: Country names and variations are stored in a human-readable YAML file
• Flexible Updates: Add or modify country variations without touching code
• Structured Data: Clear separation between canonical names and common variations

File Structure:

dxcc_entities:
  "291":
    canonical_name: "United States of America"
    name_variations: ["USA", "US", "United States", "America"]
  "339":
    canonical_name: "Japan"
    name_variations: []

Adding Country Variations: To add variations for a country, simply edit the dxcc_entities.yaml file:

1. Find the country by its DXCC code
2. Add variations to the name_variations array
3. Restart the server to apply changes

Example:

"339":
  canonical_name: "Japan"
  name_variations: ["Nippon", "Nihon"]

The server automatically loads these changes on startup, making it easy to maintain and extend country name support.

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73! Andriy W9KM