RF Scout
Wireless frequency scouting for location sound. Type in an address and RF Scout tells you which UHF blocks are clear there and which ones are sitting under a television transmitter. It is free and it runs in the browser.
What it does
- Reads public FCC broadcast data for the address you type in
- Scores every nearby UHF block as recommended, caution or avoid
- Labels the results with real gear block names from Lectrosonics, Shure, Sennheiser and Wisycom
- Covers the US, Canada, the UK and Mexico
- Exports a printable PDF cheat sheet for the rest of the crew
- Works offline once loaded, and installs to a phone home screen
- Free. No account, no trial, no ads.
Why I built it
I kept scouting the slow way. Pull up the FCC database, cross reference the call signs against the city I was shooting in, translate megahertz into whatever block my Lectros were in, write it on a piece of tape. Twenty minutes, and I did it before every out of town job.
RF Scout is that twenty minutes turned into about ten seconds. I use it on my own shoots. It does not replace a scan, nothing does, but it tells me what to pack and where to start looking, and it does that before I leave the house.
Two things I care about: it is free with no account, and the only thing that leaves your browser is the address lookup.
Common questions
Is RF Scout free?
Yes. No account, no trial, no ads. Open it and use it.
What does it actually tell me?
For the address you enter, it scores the nearby UHF blocks as recommended, caution or avoid using public FCC broadcast data, and labels each one with the block name your gear actually uses. A Lectrosonics block reads the way it reads on the receiver, not as a raw megahertz range you have to translate.
Which countries does it cover?
The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico.
Does it replace scanning on site?
No. Scan on site, every time. RF Scout tells you where to look first and what you can leave in the case. That is the part you want to know before you pack, not after you arrive.
Does it work without a signal?
Once a location is loaded it stays cached, so the advisory is readable offline. It installs to a phone home screen like an app. The address lookup itself needs a connection.
Who built it?
I did. I am Joe Giannotti, a production sound mixer in Tampa. I work all over Florida and out of state, and I built RF Scout for my own scouting.
Scout the location
Free, no account. Or if you would rather hand the whole sound department to someone, that is what I do for a living.