wspr-mcp
MCP server for WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter) beacon data — live spots, band activity, top beacons, propagation paths, SNR trends, and more through any MCP-compatible AI assistant.
Data from wspr.live (~2.7 billion spots, 2008-present). Part of the qso-graph project. No authentication required — all public data.
Install
pip install wspr-mcp
Tools
| Tool | Description | Key Parameters |
|---|---|---|
wspr_spots | Recent WSPR spots with flexible filtering | callsign, band, hours, grid, min/max SNR, min distance |
wspr_band_activity | Per-band spot counts, station counts, distances, and SNR | hours |
wspr_top_beacons | Top transmitters ranked by spot count or max distance | band, hours, sort_by (spots/distance), limit |
wspr_top_spotters | Top receivers ranked by spot count or max distance | band, hours, sort_by (spots/distance), limit |
wspr_propagation | Propagation between two locations — auto-widens to field-level proxy for sparse endpoints | tx, rx, band, hours |
wspr_grid_activity | All WSPR activity in/out of a Maidenhead grid square | grid (2 or 4 char), band, hours |
wspr_longest_paths | Longest distance WSPR paths in a time window | band, hours, min_distance, limit |
wspr_snr_trend | Hourly SNR trend for a specific path over time | tx, rx, band, hours |
get_version_info | Service version + upstream spec version (fleet identity attestation) | — |
What is WSPR?
WSPR beacons transmit a 2-minute encoded signal at very low power (typically 200 mW to 5 W). Each decoded spot proves a propagation path exists between two locations on a specific band. With thousands of beacons worldwide transmitting 24/7, WSPR provides continuous, automated propagation monitoring across all HF bands.
Good Neighbour Policy
wspr.live is a volunteer-run service that mirrors all wsprnet.org data into a public ClickHouse database. We take our responsibility as a good neighbour seriously:
| Measure | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rate limiting | 3 seconds between requests (20 req/min max) |
| Circuit breaker | Opens after 3 consecutive failures; exponential backoff up to 5 minutes. Prevents hammering a struggling service. |
| Time-bounded queries | Every query filters by time (max 72 hours). No unbounded full-table scans. |
| Band filtering | Queries filter by band whenever the user provides one — this hits wspr.live's indexes efficiently. |
| Column selection | We SELECT only the columns each tool needs (8-10 per query), never SELECT *. |
| Result limits | All queries cap results (200 spots, 50 leaderboard entries). |
| Response caching | 2-10 minute TTL per tool. Identical queries within the window hit local cache with zero network traffic. |
| Request timeout | 20-second timeout — we don't hold connections open on a shared service. |
| User-Agent header | Every request identifies itself as wspr-mcp/{version} so the operators can reach us if needed. |
If wspr.live is down or overloaded, the circuit breaker backs off automatically. We don't retry in a tight loop.
Quick Start
No credentials needed — just install and configure your MCP client.
Configure your MCP client
Claude Desktop
Add to claude_desktop_config.json (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows):
{
"mcpServers": {
"wspr": {
"command": "wspr-mcp"
}
}
}
Claude Code
Add to .claude/settings.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"wspr": {
"command": "wspr-mcp"
}
}
}
ChatGPT Desktop
{
"mcpServers": {
"wspr": {
"command": "wspr-mcp"
}
}
}
Cursor
Add to .cursor/mcp.json (project-level) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global):
{
"mcpServers": {
"wspr": {
"command": "wspr-mcp"
}
}
}
VS Code / GitHub Copilot
Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:
{
"servers": {
"wspr": {
"command": "wspr-mcp"
}
}
}
Gemini CLI
Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json (global) or .gemini/settings.json (project):
{
"mcpServers": {
"wspr": {
"command": "wspr-mcp"
}
}
}
Ask questions
"Show me recent WSPR spots on 20m"
"What bands are open right now?"
"Who are the top WSPR beacons on 20m today?"
"What are the longest WSPR paths in the last 24 hours?"
"Is there propagation between Idaho (DN13) and central Europe (JN48)?"
"Any WSPR paths between DN13 and Bouvet (JD15)?" (auto-widens to DN↔JD if no exact match)
"What's happening in grid square JN48?"
"How's the SNR trending between K9AN and G8JNJ on 20m?"
"Who are the best WSPR receivers sorted by distance?"
Testing Without Network
WSPR_MCP_MOCK=1 wspr-mcp
MCP Inspector
wspr-mcp --transport streamable-http --port 8009
Development
git clone https://github.com/qso-graph/wspr-mcp.git
cd wspr-mcp
pip install -e .
License
GPL-3.0-or-later