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

How to aim your TV antenna in Belvidere, IL

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

Transmitter directions from Belvidere, IL N E S W WDMW — 33° NNE, 60 mi WDJT — 37° NE, 76 mi WMLW — 37° NE, 76 mi WBME — 37° NE, 76 mi WYTU — 37° NE, 76 mi WISN — 37° NE, 76 mi WMVS — 39° NE, 76 mi WVCY — 39° NE, 76 mi WMVT — 39° NE, 76 mi WVTV — 39° NE, 76 mi WPXE — 39° NE, 76 mi WIWN — 39° NE, 76 mi WMKE — 39° NE, 76 mi WTSJ — 39° NE, 76 mi WTMJ — 39° NE, 75 mi WITI — 39° NE, 75 mi WPVN — 109° ESE, 43 mi WLPD — 126° SE, 48 mi WWTO — 184° S, 67 mi WQRF — 280° W, 17 mi WTVO — 280° W, 17 mi WREX — 280° W, 21 mi WFBN — 282° WNW, 17 mi WIFR — 282° WNW, 17 mi WSLN — 282° WNW, 17 mi WKOW — 328° NNW, 66 mi WISC — 328° NNW, 66 mi WHA — 328° NNW, 66 mi WMSN — 328° NNW, 66 mi WMTV — 330° NNW, 65 mi WIFS — 330° NNW, 65 mi W23BW-D — 330° NNW, 65 mi WMWD — 330° NNW, 65 mi WZCK — 330° NNW, 64 mi Belvidere

Point West-Northwest 301° on a compass — 76 miles of range covers this whole market

15/34stations in the beam
80/175free channels
46%of what's available
The other 19 stations sit northeast of you (47°). 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 Belvidere, IL

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WDMW Daystar 65 33° NNE 60 mi 1
WDJT CBS 58 37° NE 76 mi 5
WMLW Independent 49 37° NE 76 mi 5
WBME MeTV 41 37° NE 76 mi 1
WYTU Telemundo 63 37° NE 76 mi 5
WISN ABC 12 37° NE 76 mi 4
WMVS PBS 10 39° NE 76 mi 3
WVCY Independent 30 39° NE 76 mi 1
WMVT PBS 36 39° NE 76 mi 3
WVTV CW 18 39° NE 76 mi 4
WPXE Ion 55 39° NE 76 mi 8
WIWN Cozi TV 68 39° NE 76 mi 8
WMKE Jewelry TV 21 39° NE 76 mi 8
WTSJ Fubo Sports 38 39° NE 76 mi 12
WTMJ NBC 4 39° NE 75 mi 7
WITI FOX 6 39° NE 75 mi 4
WPVN MBC 24 109° ESE 43 mi 10
WLPD TBN Inspire 30 126° SE 48 mi 2
WWTO TBN 35 184° S 67 mi 4
WQRF FOX 39 280° W 17 mi 4
WTVO ABC 17 280° W 17 mi 4
WREX NBC 13 280° W 21 mi 6
WFBN Heroes & Icons 35 282° WNW 17 mi 4
WIFR CBS 23 282° WNW 17 mi 6
WSLN CW 19 282° WNW 17 mi 3
WKOW ABC 27 328° NNW 66 mi 6
WISC CBS 3 328° NNW 66 mi 6
WHA PBS 21 328° NNW 66 mi 4
WMSN FOX 47 328° NNW 66 mi 6
WMTV NBC 15 330° NNW 65 mi 6
WIFS Ion 57 330° NNW 65 mi 9
W23BW-D Busted 23 330° NNW 65 mi 7
WMWD Daystar 38 330° NNW 65 mi 1
WZCK MovieSphere Gold 8 330° NNW 64 mi 8

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Belvidere, IL?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 17.2 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 65 miles.

For Belvidere we would start with an outdoor or roof-mounted antenna. The transmitters are a long way from town. An outdoor antenna mounted as high as possible, pointed toward the towers, is what it takes to receive the full lineup reliably.

The towers around Belvidere are spread across 265° 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 Belvidere. 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 Belvidere, 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.