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

How to aim your TV antenna in Great Lakes, IL

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

Transmitter directions from Great Lakes, IL N E S W WRME — 157° SSE, 31 mi WESV — 157° SSE, 31 mi WGBO — 157° SSE, 31 mi WOCK — 157° SSE, 31 mi W31EZ-D — 158° SSE, 31 mi WDCI — 158° SSE, 31 mi WRJK — 159° SSE, 32 mi WLS — 159° SSE, 32 mi WTTW — 159° SSE, 32 mi WXFT — 159° SSE, 32 mi WBBM — 159° SSE, 32 mi WCPX — 159° SSE, 32 mi WPWR — 159° SSE, 32 mi WJYS — 159° SSE, 32 mi WWME — 159° SSE, 32 mi WEDE — 159° SSE, 32 mi WFLD — 159° SSE, 32 mi WMAQ — 159° SSE, 32 mi WGN — 159° SSE, 32 mi WCIU — 159° SSE, 32 mi WSNS — 159° SSE, 32 mi WMEU — 159° SSE, 32 mi WYIN — 160° SSE, 70 mi WLPD — 200° SSW, 34 mi WPVN — 208° SSW, 21 mi WDMW — 340° NNW, 49 mi WDJT — 356° N, 56 mi WMLW — 356° N, 56 mi WBME — 356° N, 56 mi WYTU — 356° N, 56 mi WISN — 356° N, 56 mi WVTV — 357° N, 55 mi WPXE — 357° N, 55 mi WMVS — 357° N, 55 mi WVCY — 357° N, 55 mi WMVT — 357° N, 55 mi WIWN — 357° N, 55 mi WMKE — 357° N, 55 mi WTSJ — 357° N, 55 mi WTMJ — 357° N, 54 mi WITI — 358° N, 54 mi Great Lakes

Point South 179° on a compass — 70 miles of range covers this whole market

25/41stations in the beam
124/203free channels
61%of what's available
The other 16 stations sit north of you (356°). 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 Great Lakes, IL

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WRME Jewelry TV 6 157° SSE 31 mi 1
WESV Almavision 40 157° SSE 31 mi 7
WGBO Univision 66 157° SSE 31 mi 7
WOCK Shop LC 13 157° SSE 31 mi 6
W31EZ-D Almavision 25 158° SSE 31 mi 7
WDCI Daystar 57 158° SSE 31 mi 1
WRJK Diya TV 22 159° SSE 32 mi 10
WLS ABC 7 159° SSE 32 mi 3
WTTW PBS 11 159° SSE 32 mi 4
WXFT UniMas 60 159° SSE 32 mi 3
WBBM CBS 2 159° SSE 32 mi 5
WCPX Ion 38 159° SSE 32 mi 8
WPWR MyNetworkTV 50 159° SSE 32 mi 1
WJYS Independent 62 159° SSE 32 mi 11
WWME MeTV 23 159° SSE 32 mi 3
WEDE Independent 34 159° SSE 32 mi 2
WFLD FOX 32 159° SSE 32 mi 6
WMAQ NBC 5 159° SSE 32 mi 5
WGN CW 9 159° SSE 32 mi 6
WCIU The U 26 159° SSE 32 mi 8
WSNS Telemundo 44 159° SSE 32 mi 2
WMEU U Too 48 159° SSE 32 mi 4
WYIN PBS 56 160° SSE 70 mi 2
WLPD TBN Inspire 30 200° SSW 34 mi 2
WPVN MBC 24 208° SSW 21 mi 10
WDMW Daystar 65 340° NNW 49 mi 1
WDJT CBS 58 356° N 56 mi 5
WMLW Independent 49 356° N 56 mi 5
WBME MeTV 41 356° N 56 mi 1
WYTU Telemundo 63 356° N 56 mi 5
WISN ABC 12 356° N 56 mi 4
WVTV CW 18 357° N 55 mi 4
WPXE Ion 55 357° N 55 mi 8
WMVS PBS 10 357° N 55 mi 3
WVCY Independent 30 357° N 55 mi 1
WMVT PBS 36 357° N 55 mi 3
WIWN Cozi TV 68 357° N 55 mi 8
WMKE Jewelry TV 21 357° N 55 mi 8
WTSJ Fubo Sports 38 357° N 55 mi 12
WTMJ NBC 4 357° N 54 mi 7
WITI FOX 6 358° N 54 mi 4

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Great Lakes, IL?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 20.6 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 32 miles.

For Great Lakes 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 Great Lakes are spread across 200° 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 Great Lakes. 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 Great Lakes, 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.