Antenna aiming / Barrington, IL
Which way do I point it?

How to aim your TV antenna in Barrington, IL

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

Transmitter directions from Barrington, IL N E S W WDJT — 10° N, 67 mi WMLW — 10° N, 67 mi WBME — 10° N, 67 mi WYTU — 10° N, 67 mi WISN — 10° N, 67 mi WVTV — 11° NNE, 66 mi WPXE — 11° NNE, 66 mi WMVS — 11° NNE, 67 mi WVCY — 11° NNE, 67 mi WMVT — 11° NNE, 67 mi WIWN — 11° NNE, 67 mi WMKE — 11° NNE, 67 mi WTSJ — 11° NNE, 67 mi WTMJ — 12° NNE, 66 mi WITI — 12° NNE, 66 mi WRME — 122° ESE, 33 mi WESV — 122° ESE, 33 mi WGBO — 122° ESE, 33 mi WOCK — 122° ESE, 33 mi W31EZ-D — 123° ESE, 33 mi WDCI — 123° ESE, 33 mi WRJK — 125° SE, 33 mi WLS — 125° SE, 33 mi WTTW — 125° SE, 33 mi WXFT — 125° SE, 33 mi WBBM — 125° SE, 33 mi WCPX — 125° SE, 33 mi WPWR — 125° SE, 33 mi WJYS — 125° SE, 33 mi WWME — 125° SE, 33 mi WEDE — 125° SE, 33 mi WFLD — 125° SE, 33 mi WMAQ — 125° SE, 33 mi WGN — 125° SE, 33 mi WCIU — 125° SE, 33 mi WSNS — 125° SE, 33 mi WMEU — 125° SE, 33 mi WPVN — 140° SE, 10 mi WYIN — 144° SE, 68 mi WLPD — 169° SSE, 22 mi WWTO — 214° SSW, 72 mi WDMW — 359° N, 56 mi Barrington

Point Southeast 139° on a compass — 72 miles of range covers this whole market

25/42stations in the beam
124/207free channels
60%of what's available
The other 17 stations sit north of you (9°). A rotator, or a second antenna facing that way, is what it takes to add them.
6 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 Barrington, IL

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WDJT CBS 58 10° N 67 mi 5
WMLW Independent 49 10° N 67 mi 5
WBME MeTV 41 10° N 67 mi 1
WYTU Telemundo 63 10° N 67 mi 5
WISN ABC 12 10° N 67 mi 4
WVTV CW 18 11° NNE 66 mi 4
WPXE Ion 55 11° NNE 66 mi 8
WMVS PBS 10 11° NNE 67 mi 3
WVCY Independent 30 11° NNE 67 mi 1
WMVT PBS 36 11° NNE 67 mi 3
WIWN Cozi TV 68 11° NNE 67 mi 8
WMKE Jewelry TV 21 11° NNE 67 mi 8
WTSJ Fubo Sports 38 11° NNE 67 mi 12
WTMJ NBC 4 12° NNE 66 mi 7
WITI FOX 6 12° NNE 66 mi 4
WRME Jewelry TV 6 122° ESE 33 mi 1
WESV Almavision 40 122° ESE 33 mi 7
WGBO Univision 66 122° ESE 33 mi 7
WOCK Shop LC 13 122° ESE 33 mi 6
W31EZ-D Almavision 25 123° ESE 33 mi 7
WDCI Daystar 57 123° ESE 33 mi 1
WRJK Diya TV 22 125° SE 33 mi 10
WLS ABC 7 125° SE 33 mi 3
WTTW PBS 11 125° SE 33 mi 4
WXFT UniMas 60 125° SE 33 mi 3
WBBM CBS 2 125° SE 33 mi 5
WCPX Ion 38 125° SE 33 mi 8
WPWR MyNetworkTV 50 125° SE 33 mi 1
WJYS Independent 62 125° SE 33 mi 11
WWME MeTV 23 125° SE 33 mi 3
WEDE Independent 34 125° SE 33 mi 2
WFLD FOX 32 125° SE 33 mi 6
WMAQ NBC 5 125° SE 33 mi 5
WGN CW 9 125° SE 33 mi 6
WCIU The U 26 125° SE 33 mi 8
WSNS Telemundo 44 125° SE 33 mi 2
WMEU U Too 48 125° SE 33 mi 4
WPVN MBC 24 140° SE 10 mi 10
WYIN PBS 56 144° SE 68 mi 2
WLPD TBN Inspire 30 169° SSE 22 mi 2
WWTO TBN 35 214° SSW 72 mi 4
WDMW Daystar 65 359° N 56 mi 1

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Barrington, IL?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 9.7 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 34 miles.

For Barrington we would start with an amplified indoor or attic antenna. The towers are far enough out that an amplified indoor antenna, or one mounted in the attic, will pull in far more of the lineup than a basic flat antenna.

The towers around Barrington are spread across 215° 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 Barrington. 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 Barrington, IL, 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.