Antenna aiming / Altadena, CA
Which way do I point it?

How to aim your TV antenna in Altadena, CA

Every transmitter near Altadena, with the compass direction and distance from town, and the one direction that picks up the most channels.

Transmitter directions from Altadena, CA N E S W KNLA — 56° NE, 5 mi KHIZ — 56° ENE, 5 mi KFLA — 56° ENE, 5 mi K36JH-D — 59° ENE, 56 mi KCBS — 61° ENE, 5 mi KCAL — 61° ENE, 5 mi KOCE — 62° ENE, 5 mi KABC — 62° ENE, 5 mi KAZA — 62° ENE, 5 mi KTLA — 62° ENE, 5 mi KMEX — 62° ENE, 5 mi KFTR — 62° ENE, 5 mi KXLA — 62° ENE, 5 mi KDOC — 62° ENE, 5 mi KJLA — 62° ENE, 5 mi KNBC — 63° ENE, 5 mi KTTV — 64° ENE, 5 mi KCOP — 64° ENE, 5 mi KTBN — 65° ENE, 5 mi KCET — 65° ENE, 5 mi KLCS — 65° ENE, 5 mi KSCI — 74° ENE, 5 mi KSCN — 74° ENE, 5 mi KVEA — 74° ENE, 5 mi KWHY — 74° ENE, 5 mi KRCA — 74° ENE, 5 mi KHTV — 74° ENE, 5 mi KZNO — 74° ENE, 4 mi KPXN — 74° ENE, 5 mi KPOM — 74° ENE, 5 mi KSFV — 74° ENE, 5 mi KILM — 76° ENE, 4 mi KVCR — 108° ESE, 51 mi KZSW — 108° ESE, 52 mi KILA — 133° SE, 40 mi KIIO — 237° WSW, 4 mi KSKJ — 288° WNW, 20 mi KEDD — 289° WNW, 17 mi Altadena

Point East 79° on a compass — 56 miles of range covers this whole market

34/38stations in the beam
165/197free channels
84%of what's available
The other 4 stations sit west-southwest of you (253°). A rotator, or a second antenna facing that way, is what it takes to add them.
15 of these stations broadcast on VHF frequencies. Many antennas sold as "HDTV" or "4K" are UHF-only and will miss them entirely, whichever way you point.

Every transmitter near Altadena, CA

Sorted by compass bearing, so neighbouring rows are neighbouring towers.

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
KNLA Daystar 20 56° NE 5 mi 6
KHIZ Defy TV 39 56° ENE 5 mi 7
KFLA Infomercials 8 56° ENE 5 mi 12
K36JH-D Classic Shows 36 59° ENE 56 mi 2
KCBS CBS 2 61° ENE 5 mi 5
KCAL Independent 9 61° ENE 5 mi 6
KOCE PBS 50 62° ENE 5 mi 5
KABC ABC 7 62° ENE 5 mi 4
KAZA MeTV 54 62° ENE 5 mi 5
KTLA CW 5 62° ENE 5 mi 6
KMEX Univision 34 62° ENE 5 mi 6
KFTR UniMas 46 62° ENE 5 mi 6
KXLA Independent 44 62° ENE 5 mi 6
KDOC TCT 56 62° ENE 5 mi 12
KJLA Vision Latina 57 62° ENE 5 mi 9
KNBC NBC 4 63° ENE 5 mi 5
KTTV FOX 11 64° ENE 5 mi 5
KCOP MyNetworkTV 13 64° ENE 5 mi 4
KTBN TBN 40 65° ENE 5 mi 5
KCET PBS 28 65° ENE 5 mi 3
KLCS PBS 58 65° ENE 5 mi 3
KSCI Shop LC 18 74° ENE 5 mi 4
KSCN Scientology Network 22 74° ENE 5 mi 1
KVEA Telemundo 52 74° ENE 5 mi 3
KWHY Canal de la Fe 63 74° ENE 5 mi 2
KRCA Estrella TV 62 74° ENE 5 mi 3
KHTV MeTV Plus 6 74° ENE 5 mi 1
KZNO Jewelry TV 12 74° ENE 4 mi 1
KPXN Ion 30 74° ENE 5 mi 7
KPOM Catchy Comedy 14 74° ENE 5 mi 2
KSFV MeTV Toons 27 74° ENE 5 mi 3
KILM Bounce TV 64 76° ENE 4 mi 1
KVCR PBS 24 108° ESE 51 mi 4
KZSW 3ABN 10 108° ESE 52 mi 11
KILA Infomercials 8 133° SE 40 mi 12
KIIO US Armenia 10 237° WSW 4 mi 7
KSKJ Heartland TV 45 288° WNW 20 mi 12
KEDD Jewelry TV 45 289° WNW 17 mi 1

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Altadena, CA?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 3.9 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 5 miles.

For Altadena we would start with a basic indoor antenna. Most of the lineup is transmitting from close by, so a flat indoor antenna in a window facing the towers should be enough.

The towers around Altadena are spread across 233° of the compass, so no single directional antenna will reach all of them. An omnidirectional antenna picks up every direction at once but with less reach, and a rotator lets a directional antenna turn toward whichever station you want.

Learn more about choosing an antenna

Before you climb the ladder

The limits of these numbers, and how to work around them

These are true bearings, not magnetic. A compass app on your phone usually reads magnetic north, which differs from true north by a few degrees depending on where you are in the country. For antenna aiming that difference is small, but if you are lining up a long-range directional antenna it is worth checking your local declination.

Bearings are measured from the centre of Altadena. Over the distances involved, a few miles in any direction barely moves the angle, but your own address is what ultimately matters.

Hills and buildings are not in these numbers. A transmitter 20 miles away behind a ridge can be harder to receive than one 40 miles away across flat ground. Point at the recommended bearing first, then adjust a few degrees either way while watching your TV's signal meter.

See every channel available in Altadena, CA, including what each station carries.

Calendar

What’s on, and when

Big games, races and live events coming up on free over-the-air TV, and the channel to find each one on. Full-season schedules show which games an antenna gets you for free.

Guides

Free TV explained

Guides, reviews and explainers on getting the most out of free over-the-air TV.