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

How to aim your TV antenna in Lake Villa, IL

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

Transmitter directions from Lake Villa, IL N E S W WDJT — 8° N, 49 mi WMLW — 8° N, 49 mi WBME — 8° N, 49 mi WYTU — 8° N, 49 mi WISN — 8° N, 49 mi WVTV — 10° N, 48 mi WPXE — 10° N, 48 mi WMVS — 10° N, 48 mi WVCY — 10° N, 48 mi WMVT — 10° N, 48 mi WIWN — 10° N, 48 mi WMKE — 10° N, 48 mi WTSJ — 10° N, 48 mi WTMJ — 10° N, 47 mi WITI — 10° N, 47 mi WRME — 148° SSE, 42 mi WESV — 148° SSE, 42 mi WGBO — 148° SSE, 42 mi WOCK — 148° SSE, 42 mi W31EZ-D — 148° SSE, 43 mi WDCI — 148° SSE, 43 mi WRJK — 149° SSE, 43 mi WLS — 149° SSE, 43 mi WTTW — 149° SSE, 43 mi WXFT — 149° SSE, 43 mi WBBM — 149° SSE, 43 mi WCPX — 149° SSE, 43 mi WPWR — 149° SSE, 43 mi WJYS — 149° SSE, 43 mi WWME — 149° SSE, 43 mi WEDE — 149° SSE, 43 mi WFLD — 149° SSE, 43 mi WMAQ — 149° SSE, 43 mi WGN — 149° SSE, 43 mi WCIU — 149° SSE, 43 mi WSNS — 149° SSE, 43 mi WMEU — 149° SSE, 43 mi WPVN — 178° S, 26 mi WLPD — 181° S, 40 mi WDMW — 350° N, 39 mi Lake Villa

Point South-Southeast 152° on a compass — 49 miles of range covers this whole market

24/40stations in the beam
122/201free channels
61%of what's available
The other 16 stations sit north of you (8°). 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 Villa, IL

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WDJT CBS 58 8° N 49 mi 5
WMLW Independent 49 8° N 49 mi 5
WBME MeTV 41 8° N 49 mi 1
WYTU Telemundo 63 8° N 49 mi 5
WISN ABC 12 8° N 49 mi 4
WVTV CW 18 10° N 48 mi 4
WPXE Ion 55 10° N 48 mi 8
WMVS PBS 10 10° N 48 mi 3
WVCY Independent 30 10° N 48 mi 1
WMVT PBS 36 10° N 48 mi 3
WIWN Cozi TV 68 10° N 48 mi 8
WMKE Jewelry TV 21 10° N 48 mi 8
WTSJ Fubo Sports 38 10° N 48 mi 12
WTMJ NBC 4 10° N 47 mi 7
WITI FOX 6 10° N 47 mi 4
WRME Jewelry TV 6 148° SSE 42 mi 1
WESV Almavision 40 148° SSE 42 mi 7
WGBO Univision 66 148° SSE 42 mi 7
WOCK Shop LC 13 148° SSE 42 mi 6
W31EZ-D Almavision 25 148° SSE 43 mi 7
WDCI Daystar 57 148° SSE 43 mi 1
WRJK Diya TV 22 149° SSE 43 mi 10
WLS ABC 7 149° SSE 43 mi 3
WTTW PBS 11 149° SSE 43 mi 4
WXFT UniMas 60 149° SSE 43 mi 3
WBBM CBS 2 149° SSE 43 mi 5
WCPX Ion 38 149° SSE 43 mi 8
WPWR MyNetworkTV 50 149° SSE 43 mi 1
WJYS Independent 62 149° SSE 43 mi 11
WWME MeTV 23 149° SSE 43 mi 3
WEDE Independent 34 149° SSE 43 mi 2
WFLD FOX 32 149° SSE 43 mi 6
WMAQ NBC 5 149° SSE 43 mi 5
WGN CW 9 149° SSE 43 mi 6
WCIU The U 26 149° SSE 43 mi 8
WSNS Telemundo 44 149° SSE 43 mi 2
WMEU U Too 48 149° SSE 43 mi 4
WPVN MBC 24 178° S 26 mi 10
WLPD TBN Inspire 30 181° S 40 mi 2
WDMW Daystar 65 350° N 39 mi 1

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Lake Villa, IL?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 25.7 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 43 miles.

For Lake Villa 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 Lake Villa are spread across 191° 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 Villa. 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 Villa, 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.