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

How to aim your TV antenna in Crystal Lake, IL

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

Transmitter directions from Crystal Lake, IL N E S W WDMW — 8° N, 51 mi WDJT — 18° NNE, 64 mi WMLW — 18° NNE, 64 mi WBME — 18° NNE, 64 mi WYTU — 18° NNE, 64 mi WISN — 18° NNE, 64 mi WVTV — 20° NNE, 63 mi WPXE — 20° NNE, 63 mi WMVS — 20° NNE, 63 mi WVCY — 20° NNE, 63 mi WMVT — 20° NNE, 63 mi WIWN — 20° NNE, 63 mi WMKE — 20° NNE, 63 mi WTSJ — 20° NNE, 63 mi WTMJ — 20° NNE, 63 mi WITI — 20° NNE, 63 mi WRME — 122° ESE, 43 mi WESV — 122° ESE, 43 mi WGBO — 122° ESE, 43 mi WOCK — 122° ESE, 43 mi W31EZ-D — 123° ESE, 43 mi WDCI — 123° ESE, 43 mi WRJK — 124° SE, 43 mi WLS — 124° SE, 43 mi WTTW — 124° SE, 43 mi WXFT — 124° SE, 43 mi WBBM — 124° SE, 43 mi WCPX — 124° SE, 43 mi WPWR — 124° SE, 43 mi WJYS — 124° SE, 43 mi WWME — 124° SE, 43 mi WEDE — 124° SE, 43 mi WFLD — 124° SE, 43 mi WMAQ — 124° SE, 43 mi WGN — 124° SE, 43 mi WCIU — 124° SE, 43 mi WSNS — 124° SE, 43 mi WMEU — 124° SE, 43 mi WPVN — 132° SE, 19 mi WYIN — 142° SE, 77 mi WLPD — 155° SSE, 30 mi WWTO — 206° SSW, 73 mi WQRF — 275° W, 43 mi WTVO — 275° W, 43 mi WREX — 276° W, 47 mi WFBN — 276° W, 43 mi WIFR — 276° W, 43 mi WSLN — 276° W, 43 mi Crystal Lake

Point Southeast 125° on a compass — 77 miles of range covers this whole market

25/48stations in the beam
124/234free channels
53%of what's available
The other 23 stations sit north of you (355°). A rotator, or a second antenna facing that way, is what it takes to add them.
8 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 Crystal Lake, IL

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WDMW Daystar 65 8° N 51 mi 1
WDJT CBS 58 18° NNE 64 mi 5
WMLW Independent 49 18° NNE 64 mi 5
WBME MeTV 41 18° NNE 64 mi 1
WYTU Telemundo 63 18° NNE 64 mi 5
WISN ABC 12 18° NNE 64 mi 4
WVTV CW 18 20° NNE 63 mi 4
WPXE Ion 55 20° NNE 63 mi 8
WMVS PBS 10 20° NNE 63 mi 3
WVCY Independent 30 20° NNE 63 mi 1
WMVT PBS 36 20° NNE 63 mi 3
WIWN Cozi TV 68 20° NNE 63 mi 8
WMKE Jewelry TV 21 20° NNE 63 mi 8
WTSJ Fubo Sports 38 20° NNE 63 mi 12
WTMJ NBC 4 20° NNE 63 mi 7
WITI FOX 6 20° NNE 63 mi 4
WRME Jewelry TV 6 122° ESE 43 mi 1
WESV Almavision 40 122° ESE 43 mi 7
WGBO Univision 66 122° ESE 43 mi 7
WOCK Shop LC 13 122° ESE 43 mi 6
W31EZ-D Almavision 25 123° ESE 43 mi 7
WDCI Daystar 57 123° ESE 43 mi 1
WRJK Diya TV 22 124° SE 43 mi 10
WLS ABC 7 124° SE 43 mi 3
WTTW PBS 11 124° SE 43 mi 4
WXFT UniMas 60 124° SE 43 mi 3
WBBM CBS 2 124° SE 43 mi 5
WCPX Ion 38 124° SE 43 mi 8
WPWR MyNetworkTV 50 124° SE 43 mi 1
WJYS Independent 62 124° SE 43 mi 11
WWME MeTV 23 124° SE 43 mi 3
WEDE Independent 34 124° SE 43 mi 2
WFLD FOX 32 124° SE 43 mi 6
WMAQ NBC 5 124° SE 43 mi 5
WGN CW 9 124° SE 43 mi 6
WCIU The U 26 124° SE 43 mi 8
WSNS Telemundo 44 124° SE 43 mi 2
WMEU U Too 48 124° SE 43 mi 4
WPVN MBC 24 132° SE 19 mi 10
WYIN PBS 56 142° SE 77 mi 2
WLPD TBN Inspire 30 155° SSE 30 mi 2
WWTO TBN 35 206° SSW 73 mi 4
WQRF FOX 39 275° W 43 mi 4
WTVO ABC 17 275° W 43 mi 4
WREX NBC 13 276° W 47 mi 6
WFBN Heroes & Icons 35 276° W 43 mi 4
WIFR CBS 23 276° W 43 mi 6
WSLN CW 19 276° W 43 mi 3

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Crystal Lake, IL?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 19.4 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 43 miles.

For Crystal Lake 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 Crystal Lake are spread across 258° 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 Crystal Lake. 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 Crystal Lake, 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.

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Today
Upcoming broadcasts

Pins are broadcast dates. Bars are full seasons. Orange marks today.

Nov 26 · NBCMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Dec 12 · CBSArmy-Navy Game
Jan 25 · ABCCFP National Championship
Feb 7 · ABCGrammy Awards
Feb 14 · ABCSuper Bowl LXI
Feb 21 · FOXDaytona 500
Mar 14 · ABCAcademy Awards
Apr 8 · CBSThe Masters
May 1 · NBCKentucky Derby
Feb '26MarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan '27FebMarAprMay
Sports TV schedules
NFL SeasonCBS, FOX, NBC
CBS, FOX, NBC
College FootballABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW
ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW
NASCAR Cup SeriesFOX, NBC
FOX, NBC
Guides

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