Cut the Cord.
Drop the Subscriptions.
Enjoy Free Local TV.
Drop the Subscriptions.
Enjoy Free Local TV.
Every transmitter near Helena, with the compass direction and distance from town, and the one direction that picks up the most channels.
Point North-Northeast 19° on a compass — 80 miles of range covers this whole market
Sorted by compass bearing, so neighbouring rows are neighbouring towers.
| Station | Network | Channel | Bearing | Direction | Distance | Subchannels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KUGF | PBS | 21 | 31° | NNE | 80 mi | 5 |
| KFBB | ABC | 5 | 31° | NNE | 80 mi | 3 |
| KRTV | CBS | 3 | 31° | NNE | 80 mi | 6 |
| KTGF | NBC | 50 | 31° | NNE | 80 mi | 6 |
| KUHM | PBS | 10 | 48° | NE | 30 mi | 5 |
| KXLH | CBS | 9 | 49° | NE | 30 mi | 6 |
| KTVH | NBC | 12 | 49° | NE | 30 mi | 6 |
| KDBZ | NBC | 6 | 145° | SE | 76 mi | 5 |
| KWYB | ABC | 18 | 199° | SSW | 39 mi | 3 |
| KXLF | CBS | 4 | 199° | SSW | 39 mi | 6 |
| KTVM | NBC | 6 | 199° | SSW | 39 mi | 5 |
Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.
How far the transmitters are, which way they sit, and what that means for the antenna you buy.
The nearest transmitter is 29.5 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 81 miles.
For Helena 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 Helena are spread across 168° 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.
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 Helena. 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 Helena, MT, including what each station carries.
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