Antenna aiming / Long Island City, NY
Which way do I point it?

How to aim your TV antenna in Long Island City, NY

Every transmitter near Long Island City, with the compass direction and distance from town, and the one direction that picks up the most channels.

Transmitter directions from Long Island City, NY N E S W WTXX — 40° NE, 78 mi WZME — 45° NE, 60 mi WEDW — 47° NE, 54 mi WTNH — 47° NE, 69 mi WCTX — 47° NE, 69 mi WFTY — 79° E, 52 mi WLIW — 83° E, 26 mi W29FF-D — 213° SSW, 53 mi WNJT — 231° SW, 51 mi WWOR — 238° WSW, 5 mi WJLP — 239° WSW, 5 mi WMBQ — 239° WSW, 5 mi WASA — 239° WSW, 5 mi WKOB — 239° WSW, 5 mi WNJB — 254° WSW, 31 mi WFUT — 272° W, 2 mi WXNY — 272° W, 2 mi WDYA — 272° W, 2 mi WCBS — 272° W, 2 mi WNBC — 272° W, 2 mi WABC — 272° W, 2 mi WNYW — 272° W, 2 mi WNET — 272° W, 2 mi WXTV — 272° W, 2 mi WPIX — 272° W, 2 mi WNDT — 272° W, 2 mi WPXN — 272° W, 2 mi WDVB — 272° W, 2 mi WNYN — 277° W, 0 mi WNYZ — 278° W, 0 mi WNYX — 283° WNW, 17 mi WNJU — 283° WNW, 17 mi WNMF — 285° WNW, 2 mi WNYE — 285° WNW, 3 mi WNWT — 285° WNW, 3 mi WDYJ — 296° WNW, 2 mi WNJN — 301° WNW, 16 mi WMBC — 301° WNW, 16 mi WEPT — 358° N, 67 mi WNYJ — 358° N, 67 mi WRNN — 359° N, 51 mi WTBY — 360° N, 51 mi Long Island City

Point West-Southwest 255° on a compass — 78 miles of range covers this whole market

27/42stations in the beam
85/137free channels
62%of what's available
The other 15 stations sit north-northeast of you (15°). A rotator, or a second antenna facing that way, is what it takes to add them.
14 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 Long Island City, NY

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WTXX MovieSphere Gold 34 40° NE 78 mi 7
WZME Story Television 43 45° NE 60 mi 5
WEDW PBS 49 47° NE 54 mi 1
WTNH ABC 8 47° NE 69 mi 3
WCTX MyNetworkTV 59 47° NE 69 mi 2
WFTY True Crime Network 67 79° E 52 mi 6
WLIW PBS 21 83° E 26 mi 4
W29FF-D Daystar 45 213° SSW 53 mi 1
WNJT PBS 52 231° SW 51 mi 1
WWOR MyNetworkTV 9 238° WSW 5 mi 3
WJLP MeTV 33 239° WSW 5 mi 7
WMBQ FNX 46 239° WSW 5 mi 1
WASA Independent 24 239° WSW 5 mi 2
WKOB ULFN 42 239° WSW 5 mi 4
WNJB PBS 58 254° WSW 31 mi 1
WFUT UniMas 68 272° W 2 mi 3
WXNY Daystar 32 272° W 2 mi 1
WDYA Diya TV 33 272° W 2 mi 5
WCBS CBS 2 272° W 2 mi 6
WNBC NBC 4 272° W 2 mi 4
WABC ABC 7 272° W 2 mi 5
WNYW FOX 5 272° W 2 mi 5
WNET PBS 13 272° W 2 mi 6
WXTV Univision 41 272° W 2 mi 5
WPIX CW 11 272° W 2 mi 3
WNDT FNX 14 272° W 2 mi 1
WPXN Ion 31 272° W 2 mi 8
WDVB TBN Inspire 23 272° W 2 mi 2
WNYN Independent 39 277° W 0 mi 1
WNYZ Independent 6 278° W 0 mi 1
WNYX Infomercials 34 283° WNW 17 mi 3
WNJU Telemundo 47 283° WNW 17 mi 2
WNMF Jewelry TV 22 285° WNW 2 mi 1
WNYE Independent 25 285° WNW 3 mi 3
WNWT Story Television 37 285° WNW 3 mi 1
WDYJ Diya TV 60 296° WNW 2 mi 1
WNJN PBS 50 301° WNW 16 mi 1
WMBC Estrella TV 63 301° WNW 16 mi 8
WEPT Independent 15 358° N 67 mi 1
WNYJ Jewelry TV 16 358° N 67 mi 3
WRNN Shop LC 48 359° N 51 mi 5
WTBY TBN 54 360° N 51 mi 4

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Long Island City, NY?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 0.2 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 3 miles.

For Long Island City we would start with a basic indoor antenna. Most of the lineup is transmitting from close by, so a flat indoor antenna in a window facing the towers should be enough.

The towers around Long Island City are spread across 230° 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 Long Island City. 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 Long Island City, NY, 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.