Help & getting started

EastArkNet Help

EastArkNet lets you listen to public-safety radio traffic from participating areas of Eastern Arkansas, review earlier calls, and receive selected incident alerts. You can listen in a web browser or use the official EastArkNet mobile app.

See Scanner Coverage for the major cities, counties, agencies, and Arkansas State Police traffic currently represented on Eastern Arkansas Network.

What Is a Talkgroup?

A talkgroup is basically a radio channel used by a particular agency or for a particular purpose, such as a sheriff's dispatch channel, a fire channel, or EMS.

You choose the talkgroups you want to hear. Most public talkgroups are available without an access code. Some are restricted and show a lock.

What to Expect While Listening

The scanner is often quiet. It plays something only when radio traffic is received on one of the talkgroups you selected. You may hear nothing for several minutes, then hear several short calls close together when an incident becomes busy.

If several calls arrive around the same time, EastArkNet may place them in a short queue so you can hear them in order. Calls are received and processed before they reach you, so a brief delay from the original radio transmission is normal.

Radio reception is never perfect. A weak signal, interference, equipment trouble, or a network problem can occasionally cause a missed, delayed, cut-off, or unclear call.

Using the Scanner

Open Talkgroups, choose what you want to hear, and start the scanner.

Pause stops the audio until you resume. Skip moves past the current call. Hold keeps you on the current talkgroup for a while. Avoid removes the current talkgroup from your scan list and skips its current call.

Your talkgroup choices are remembered on the device you are using.

Web Scanner or EastArkNet App?

The web scanner works directly in a browser and does not require an app. On phones and tablets, however, the operating system may limit browser audio when the screen is locked or the browser is in the background.

The official EastArkNet app for iPhone and Android is designed for more dependable background and lock-screen listening. It uses the same EastArkNet talkgroups and also provides access to alerts, notifications, and the Call Archive. Supported devices may also provide lock-screen, Bluetooth, headset, and vehicle audio controls.

The official EastArkNet app is separate from the third-party Rdio Scanner app. If Rdio Scanner access remains available, it is an optional compatibility service and is not required to use EastArkNet.

Call Archive

The Call Archive lets you go back and listen to earlier traffic that EastArkNet successfully received and retained. You can browse recent calls or narrow the results by talkgroup and date or time.

If you play an archived call while the scanner is running, live scanner audio may pause and then continue when archive playback is finished.

A missing call does not necessarily mean nothing was transmitted. EastArkNet can only archive radio traffic it successfully received and processed.

Alerts and Notifications

Alerts are information posted through EastArkNet about selected incidents or activity. Some alerts may include audio.

Notifications are optional messages sent to your phone, tablet, or browser. You choose which available notification categories you want. Notification choices are separate from the talkgroups you select for scanner listening.

Alerts and notifications can be delayed, updated, incomplete, or wrong. Do not rely on EastArkNet as your only source of emergency or safety information.

Access Codes

You do not need an access code for ordinary public listening. If you have been given an authorized access code, it may unlock additional talkgroups or features.

Access codes are for the person or group they were issued to. Do not post, sell, or share a restricted code unless EastArkNet has authorized you to do so.

Privacy

EastArkNet does not require a named listener account for ordinary public listening. Your local scanner choices and app or browser settings are used to make the service work on your device.

For details about information EastArkNet collects, uses, stores, and deletes, read the Privacy Policy.

If You Hear Nothing

First, make sure the scanner is started, at least one talkgroup is selected, and your device is not muted. Then give it a little time—quiet talkgroups can go several minutes or longer without any radio traffic.

If the scanner remains silent when you believe it should be active, or if the site or app is not behaving normally, check again later or contact EastArkNet Support.

Reporting a Problem

If you report a playback problem, incorrect label, missing or questionable call, alert issue, or other problem, include enough information for us to find it: the talkgroup or agency, approximate date and time, and what you noticed.

For app or website problems, also tell us which device and browser or app you are using. Do not send access codes, passwords, or other credentials.

Support

If this page does not answer your question, contact EastArkNet Support.

Public email: support@eastarknet.com