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

How to aim your TV antenna in Lake Forest, IL

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

Transmitter directions from Lake Forest, IL N E S W WRME — 152° SSE, 27 mi WESV — 152° SSE, 27 mi WGBO — 152° SSE, 27 mi WOCK — 152° SSE, 27 mi W31EZ-D — 152° SSE, 28 mi WDCI — 152° SSE, 28 mi WRJK — 154° SSE, 28 mi WLS — 154° SSE, 28 mi WTTW — 154° SSE, 28 mi WXFT — 154° SSE, 28 mi WBBM — 154° SSE, 28 mi WCPX — 154° SSE, 28 mi WPWR — 154° SSE, 28 mi WJYS — 154° SSE, 28 mi WWME — 154° SSE, 28 mi WEDE — 154° SSE, 28 mi WFLD — 154° SSE, 28 mi WMAQ — 154° SSE, 28 mi WGN — 154° SSE, 28 mi WCIU — 154° SSE, 28 mi WSNS — 154° SSE, 28 mi WMEU — 154° SSE, 28 mi WYIN — 158° SSE, 66 mi WLPD — 201° SSW, 30 mi WPVN — 214° SSW, 16 mi WDMW — 342° NNW, 53 mi WDJT — 357° N, 60 mi WMLW — 357° N, 60 mi WBME — 357° N, 60 mi WYTU — 357° N, 60 mi WISN — 357° N, 60 mi WVTV — 358° N, 59 mi WPXE — 358° N, 59 mi WMVS — 358° N, 59 mi WVCY — 358° N, 59 mi WMVT — 358° N, 59 mi WIWN — 358° N, 59 mi WMKE — 358° N, 59 mi WTSJ — 358° N, 59 mi WTMJ — 358° N, 59 mi WITI — 359° N, 59 mi Lake Forest

Point South 172° on a compass — 66 miles of range covers this whole market

24/41stations in the beam
114/203free channels
56%of what's available
The other 17 stations sit north of you (355°). 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 Lake Forest, IL

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WRME Jewelry TV 6 152° SSE 27 mi 1
WESV Almavision 40 152° SSE 27 mi 7
WGBO Univision 66 152° SSE 27 mi 7
WOCK Shop LC 13 152° SSE 27 mi 6
W31EZ-D Almavision 25 152° SSE 28 mi 7
WDCI Daystar 57 152° SSE 28 mi 1
WRJK Diya TV 22 154° SSE 28 mi 10
WLS ABC 7 154° SSE 28 mi 3
WTTW PBS 11 154° SSE 28 mi 4
WXFT UniMas 60 154° SSE 28 mi 3
WBBM CBS 2 154° SSE 28 mi 5
WCPX Ion 38 154° SSE 28 mi 8
WPWR MyNetworkTV 50 154° SSE 28 mi 1
WJYS Independent 62 154° SSE 28 mi 11
WWME MeTV 23 154° SSE 28 mi 3
WEDE Independent 34 154° SSE 28 mi 2
WFLD FOX 32 154° SSE 28 mi 6
WMAQ NBC 5 154° SSE 28 mi 5
WGN CW 9 154° SSE 28 mi 6
WCIU The U 26 154° SSE 28 mi 8
WSNS Telemundo 44 154° SSE 28 mi 2
WMEU U Too 48 154° SSE 28 mi 4
WYIN PBS 56 158° SSE 66 mi 2
WLPD TBN Inspire 30 201° SSW 30 mi 2
WPVN MBC 24 214° SSW 16 mi 10
WDMW Daystar 65 342° NNW 53 mi 1
WDJT CBS 58 357° N 60 mi 5
WMLW Independent 49 357° N 60 mi 5
WBME MeTV 41 357° N 60 mi 1
WYTU Telemundo 63 357° N 60 mi 5
WISN ABC 12 357° N 60 mi 4
WVTV CW 18 358° N 59 mi 4
WPXE Ion 55 358° N 59 mi 8
WMVS PBS 10 358° N 59 mi 3
WVCY Independent 30 358° N 59 mi 1
WMVT PBS 36 358° N 59 mi 3
WIWN Cozi TV 68 358° N 59 mi 8
WMKE Jewelry TV 21 358° N 59 mi 8
WTSJ Fubo Sports 38 358° N 59 mi 12
WTMJ NBC 4 358° N 59 mi 7
WITI FOX 6 359° N 59 mi 4

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Lake Forest, IL?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 16.1 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 28 miles.

For Lake Forest 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 Lake Forest are spread across 207° 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 Lake Forest. 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 Lake Forest, 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.