Which integrations are available for this server?

Supports containerized deployment through Docker, enabling portable setup of the AetherLink server with all dependencies included. Provides testing infrastructure for verifying functionality of radio protocol decoders and hardware interfaces. Built on Python 3.10+, allowing for extensible development of new radio protocol decoders and hardware support.

How do I use AetherLink SDR MCP?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@AetherLink SDR MCP scan 100-150 MHz for emergency services signals" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

AetherLink-SDR-MCP: Software Defined Radio Model Context Protocol Server

Control Software Defined Radios and decode radio protocols through an AI-friendly Model Context Protocol interface.

🚀 Features

Protocol Decoders: ADS-B aircraft tracking, POCSAG pagers, AIS ship tracking, NOAA weather satellites
Advanced Analysis: Real-time spectrum analysis, waterfall displays, signal detection, frequency scanning
Audio Recording: Demodulate and record FM/AM audio as WAV files
MCP Integration: Seamless integration with Claude Desktop and other MCP clients
23 MCP Tools: Complete SDR control through natural language

Related MCP server: MCP Hardware Access Library

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

1. RTL-SDR Drivers:

# macOS brew install librtlsdr # Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt-get install rtl-sdr librtlsdr-dev # Windows # Download from https://osmocom.org/projects/rtl-sdr/wiki

2. RTL-SDR Tools:

# macOS brew install rtl-sdr # Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt-get install rtl-sdr # Includes: rtl_fm, rtl_adsb, rtl_test

3. POCSAG Decoder (optional but recommended):

# Clone and build multimon-ng cd /tmp git clone https://github.com/EliasOenal/multimon-ng.git cd multimon-ng mkdir build && cd build cmake .. make # Binary will be at: /tmp/multimon-ng/build/multimon-ng

4. Python 3.10+

Install from Source

# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/yourusername/AetherLink-SDR-MCP cd AetherLink-SDR-MCP # Create virtual environment python3 -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate # Install dependencies pip install -e .

Required Python Packages

The following are installed automatically:

pyrtlsdr - RTL-SDR hardware interface
numpy - Signal processing
scipy - Filtering and demodulation
mcp - Model Context Protocol server
pyModeS - ADS-B decoding

🎯 Quick Start

1. Configure Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or equivalent:

{ "mcpServers": { "sdr": { "command": "/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Documents/GitHub/AetherLink-SDR-MCP/venv/bin/python", "args": ["-m", "sdr_mcp.server"], "env": {} } } }

Important: Use absolute paths for the Python interpreter.

2. Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and restart Claude Desktop to load the MCP server.

3. Test the Connection

In Claude Desktop:

Connect to my RTL-SDR

You should see: "Successfully connected to RTL-SDR"

📡 Supported Hardware

Device	RX Frequency	TX Support	Status	Tested
RTL-SDR	24 MHz - 1766 MHz	❌	✅ Stable	✅ Yes
HackRF One	1 MHz - 6 GHz	✅	✅ Working	⚠️ Limited
Nooelec E4000	55 MHz - 2300 MHz	❌	✅ Stable	✅ Yes

📊 Protocol Support

Protocol	Description	Status
ADS-B	Aircraft tracking	✅ Ready
POCSAG	Pager decoding	✅ Ready
AIS	Ship tracking	✅ Ready
NOAA APT	Weather satellites	✅ Ready

Protocol Details

ADS-B (1090 MHz):

Uses rtl_adsb subprocess for demodulation
pyModeS for message decoding
Tracks aircraft position, speed, altitude, callsign
FULLY TESTED AND WORKING

POCSAG (152/454/929 MHz):

Uses multimon-ng for professional decoding
Supports 512/1200/2400 baud
Alphanumeric and numeric messages
Common frequencies: 152.240 MHz, 454 MHz, 929-931 MHz

AIS (161.975/162.025 MHz):

GMSK demodulation (simplified)
Decodes ship position, speed, type
Requires coastal location

NOAA APT (137 MHz):

AM demodulation
Decodes weather satellite images
Requires satellite overhead (2 passes/day)

🛠️ Available MCP Tools (23 Total)

Core SDR Control (5 tools)

sdr_connect - Connect to RTL-SDR or HackRF
sdr_disconnect - Disconnect from SDR
sdr_set_frequency - Set center frequency in Hz
sdr_set_gain - Set gain (dB or 'auto')
sdr_get_status - Get hardware status

Aviation (3 tools)

aviation_track_aircraft - Start ADS-B tracking on 1090 MHz
aviation_stop_tracking - Stop tracking
aviation_get_aircraft - Get list of tracked aircraft

pager_start_decoding - Start POCSAG decoder
pager_stop_decoding - Stop decoding
pager_get_messages - Get decoded messages

Marine (3 tools)

marine_track_vessels - Start AIS ship tracking
marine_stop_tracking - Stop tracking
marine_get_vessels - Get vessel list

Satellite (1 tool)

satellite_decode_noaa - Decode NOAA weather satellite pass

Analysis (5 tools)

spectrum_analyze - Analyze RF spectrum (FFT, signal detection)
spectrum_scan - Scan frequency range
recording_start/recording_stop - Record raw IQ samples (saved to /tmp/sdr_recordings/)
audio_record_start/audio_record_stop - Record demodulated audio as WAV (FM/AM)

HackRF Transmit (2 tools)

hackrf_set_tx_gain - Set transmit gain
signal_generator - Generate and transmit signals

📖 Usage Examples

Track Aircraft

Track aircraft in my area

After 30-60 seconds:

Show me the aircraft

Decode Pagers

Set frequency to 152.240 MHz Start paging decoder at 1200 baud

Wait a few minutes, then:

Get pager messages

Note: Check RadioReference.com for active pager frequencies in your area.

Analyze Spectrum

Set frequency to 100 MHz Analyze the spectrum

Scan for Signals

Scan from 430 MHz to 440 MHz with 1 MHz steps

Record Audio from FM Radio

Set frequency to 103.7 MHz Start audio recording with FM modulation and description "Local FM station"

Wait for desired duration (e.g., 30 seconds), then:

Stop audio recording

Files saved to: /tmp/sdr_recordings/audio_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_XXXMHz_FM.wav

Record Raw IQ Samples

Set frequency to 103.7 MHz Start recording with description "Raw baseband data"

Wait for desired duration, then:

Stop recording

Files saved to: /tmp/sdr_recordings/recording_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_XXXMHz.iq

Use case: Advanced analysis, replay, or processing with GNU Radio/SDR#

NOAA Satellite (when overhead)

Decode NOAA-19 satellite for 600 seconds

🔧 Development

Project Structure

AetherLink-SDR-MCP/ ├── sdr_mcp/ │ ├── server.py # Main MCP server (21 tools) │ ├── hardware/ │ │ ├── rtlsdr.py # RTL-SDR interface │ │ └── hackrf.py # HackRF interface │ ├── decoders/ │ │ ├── pocsag.py # POCSAG pager decoder │ │ ├── ais.py # AIS ship decoder │ │ └── noaa_apt.py # NOAA satellite decoder │ └── analysis/ │ └── spectrum.py # Spectrum analysis, signal detection ├── tests/ # All test scripts └── README.md # This file

Architecture

Device Management:

RTL-SDR and ADS-B use exclusive device access
Python SDR control and rtl_adsb cannot run simultaneously
aviation_track_aircraft automatically disconnects Python SDR
aviation_stop_tracking reconnects Python SDR

Decoders:

ADS-B: rtl_adsb subprocess + pyModeS
POCSAG: rtl_fm + multimon-ng pipeline
AIS: Built-in GMSK demodulator (simplified)
NOAA: Built-in AM demodulator + sync detection

AetherLink SDR MCP

AetherLink-SDR-MCP: Software Defined Radio Model Context Protocol Server

🚀 Features

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

Install from Source

Required Python Packages

🎯 Quick Start

1. Configure Claude Desktop

2. Restart Claude Desktop

3. Test the Connection

📡 Supported Hardware

📊 Protocol Support

Protocol Details

🛠️ Available MCP Tools (23 Total)

Core SDR Control (5 tools)

Aviation (3 tools)

Marine (3 tools)

Satellite (1 tool)

Analysis (5 tools)

HackRF Transmit (2 tools)

📖 Usage Examples

Track Aircraft

Decode Pagers

Analyze Spectrum

Scan for Signals

Record Audio from FM Radio

Record Raw IQ Samples

NOAA Satellite (when overhead)

🔧 Development

Project Structure

Architecture

Resources

New MCP Servers

Latest Blog Posts

MCP directory API

AetherLink-SDR-MCP: Software Defined Radio Model Context Protocol Server

🚀 Features

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

Install from Source

Required Python Packages

🎯 Quick Start

1. Configure Claude Desktop

2. Restart Claude Desktop

3. Test the Connection

📡 Supported Hardware

📊 Protocol Support

Protocol Details

🛠️ Available MCP Tools (23 Total)

Core SDR Control (5 tools)

Aviation (3 tools)

Pager Decoding (3 tools)

Marine (3 tools)

Satellite (1 tool)

Analysis (5 tools)

HackRF Transmit (2 tools)

📖 Usage Examples

Track Aircraft

Decode Pagers

Analyze Spectrum

Scan for Signals

Record Audio from FM Radio

Record Raw IQ Samples

NOAA Satellite (when overhead)

🔧 Development

Project Structure

Architecture

Resources

New MCP Servers

Latest Blog Posts

MCP directory API