Independent public listening resource
About Enid Scanner
I’m Jeff, the person behind Enid Scanner. I am amateur radio operator N5UBY, and I have had a long interest in public safety radio, local response, and the work happening behind the sirens most people only hear in passing.
Enid Scanner is independently operated and built to give listeners a clearer local place to hear the feed, understand what they may be hearing, and find support when needed.
How this started
From the car radio to a public feed
I have been listening to scanner traffic since around 1995. I was naturally curious about why sirens were moving through town, what responders were being sent to, and how busy the radio really was.
Some of my earliest family memories with the scanner are simple ones: driving around Enid at night with my wife and kids while the radio played, because the sound helped the kids fall asleep.
Around 2007, I began publicly streaming the feed through RadioReference.com. Enid Scanner has been streaming since 2007, and I have tried to keep it available even when that took extra effort.
Keeping it online mattered
At one point, even after I moved out of state, I kept the feed running from a small local shed with remote access because keeping it online mattered. It was not fancy. It was a practical setup that let the feed keep serving people back home.
Today I still personally maintain the scanner hardware, software, website, and support requests. When something breaks, needs an upgrade, or needs clearer information for listeners, it usually comes back to me.
RadioReference, Broadcastify, and this website
The feed started through RadioReference.com around 2007. In 2012, RadioReference announced that its live audio feeds would transition into Broadcastify, with the launch planned for October 15, 2012. Since then, the Enid Scanner feed has continued through Broadcastify.
Enid Scanner provides the local audio source/feed. Broadcastify distributes the feed through its website, platform, and supported listening apps. Enid Scanner is not Broadcastify, and Broadcastify is not responsible for EnidScanner.com support requests.
This website gives listeners a local place to listen, get more information, understand what is being heard, and check updates and weather when they need more context.
Why it matters
I still like knowing why sirens are moving through town. But the bigger reason Enid Scanner matters is that it shows how busy local public servants really are.
The feed gives people a small window into the constant stream of calls handled by police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, dispatchers, emergency management, code enforcement, animal control, school resource officers, and other public servants. Most of that work happens without much public attention, but it affects the whole community.
Current technical setup
The feed started as one analog scanner. Over time, public safety radio moved from analog toward digital, so the setup had to change too.
How the feed is built today
- An older Dell all-in-one computer
- Three SDR dongles monitoring different frequencies
- DSDPlus Fastlane
- RadioFeed
- Broadcastify distribution
Why the setup changed
The feed started with one analog scanner. As local public safety radio moved from analog toward digital, the setup had to grow. The three-SDR setup lets Enid Scanner monitor more than one frequency path at a time and keep the available public dispatch traffic working together as a single feed.
What you may hear
Scanner traffic and coverage can change as radio systems, agencies, policies, weather, and equipment change. Current or possible feed coverage includes:
- Enid Police Main Dispatch
- Enid Fire Main Dispatch
- Garfield County Main Dispatch
- North Enid Police
- Waukomis PD
- Covington PD
- Lahoma PD
- Parking / code enforcement
- Animal control
- Enid Public Schools resource officers, occasionally
- Garfield County Emergency Management during severe weather when I am home and able to add or adjust it
How the left and right channels work
Enid Scanner is sent out as a stereo feed. Some traffic is carried more on the left side and some more on the right side, similar to left and right speakers in music. If you listen with headphones, earbuds, stereo speakers, or a scanner app that supports stereo, the split may be clearer.
Left Channel
Enid-area traffic
Enid Police Main Dispatch, Enid Fire Main Dispatch, and related Enid-area traffic.
Right Channel
County-area traffic
Garfield County Main Dispatch and related county-area traffic.
Some scanner apps, phones, computers, or accessibility/audio settings may let you adjust left/right balance. The embedded website player may not offer a balance control, so a scanner app or device audio setting may give you more control. Scanner app options are listed on the Listen Live page.
What you will not hear
- Enid Police tactical operations
- Enid Fire tactical traffic, except rare situations or bleed-over
- Private Emergency Medical Service channels, though Enid Fire dispatches to most medical calls
- Decoded encrypted communications
- Intentionally monitored tactical operations
- Understandable encrypted audio; if encrypted audio ever bleeds through, it remains garbled and not understandable
Enid Scanner does not intentionally monitor tactical operations or decode encrypted communications.
Officer safety and delay
Officer safety matters. Enid Scanner is not intended to be a real-time tactical tool. The public feed is not instant, and Enid Scanner maintains about a two-minute delay between live radio traffic and what listeners hear online. That delay is intentional and also includes normal internet and audio processing time.
Tactical channels, encrypted traffic, and sensitive operations are not intentionally carried or decoded. If local agencies ever move fully encrypted, Enid Scanner may no longer be able to provide the same live public feed.
Please avoid active scenes, do not interfere with responders, and follow official instructions. Let police, fire, deputies, dispatchers, emergency management, and other public servants do their work.
Weather alerts and site colors
Blue is the normal Enid Scanner color. Red means important weather or other local alerts are active for Enid or Garfield County. When the site turns red, it is a quick visual signal to check the Weather / Alerts page for current information.
Reliability limits
The feed is built with a primary internet connection and a backup cell hotspot. It can still go down during a power outage, hardware failure, software issue, or if both internet paths are unavailable.
Because Enid Scanner is independently operated, outages may not always be fixed immediately.
Audio help and scanner apps
If you need help with the feed or want to ask about possible audio from a specific time, use Report / Support. Audio requests are free, but availability is not guaranteed. Some audio may not be available due to timing, system limitations, retention, or the type of radio traffic involved.
For listening apps, start with the scanner app options on the Listen Live page. Scanner Radio is my personal app preference, but Enid Scanner is not affiliated with Scanner Radio. Other apps may work too, so search your app store for a live scanner app and choose what works best for your device.
Sponsorship and support
Enid Scanner has been maintained out of pocket for years. Sponsorship is new, and it is not meant to turn the site into an ad platform or make the project about money.
It is a small way for local supporters to help keep the project going and show support for the public servants heard on the feed.
What I’m working on
I am continuing to work on hardware upgrades to reduce outages, improve reliability, and make room for new features. I am also improving the website, listening help, weather and update information, support requests, and eventually reviewed incident-related content when it can be handled responsibly.
A personal thank you
A personal thank you goes to the police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, dispatchers, emergency management staff, code enforcement, animal control, school resource officers, and the other public servants who handle the calls most people never see. Enid Scanner exists in part because their work deserves to be understood and appreciated.
Independent and unofficial
Enid Scanner is independently operated. It is not affiliated with any police, fire, sheriff, emergency management, school, or government agency. It respects and appreciates their work, but it is not an official source for emergency information.
For emergencies, call 911. For feed problems, audio questions, or website support, use Report / Support.
