Antenna aiming / Lorton, VA
Which way do I point it?

How to aim your TV antenna in Lorton, VA

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

Transmitter directions from Lorton, VA N E S W WTTG — 19° NNE, 20 mi WDCA — 19° NNE, 20 mi WDDN — 20° NNE, 24 mi WETA — 20° NNE, 20 mi WJLA — 20° NNE, 20 mi WUSA — 20° NNE, 20 mi WHUT — 20° NNE, 20 mi WPXW — 20° NNE, 20 mi WWTD — 20° NNE, 19 mi WFDC — 20° NNE, 19 mi WZDC — 20° NNE, 19 mi WRZB — 20° NNE, 19 mi WRC — 20° NNE, 19 mi WIAV — 20° NNE, 19 mi WDCO — 20° NNE, 19 mi WDME — 20° NNE, 19 mi WMPB — 23° NNE, 58 mi WDCW — 26° NNE, 22 mi WMJF — 33° NNE, 59 mi WUTB — 33° NNE, 54 mi WBFF — 33° NNE, 54 mi WNUV — 33° NNE, 54 mi WMAR — 33° NNE, 54 mi WBAL — 33° NNE, 54 mi WJZ — 33° NNE, 54 mi WWDD — 42° NE, 78 mi WQAW — 54° NE, 39 mi WMPT — 54° NE, 39 mi WUPV — 182° S, 65 mi WNVT — 254° WSW, 13 mi WDVM — 294° WNW, 48 mi WDWA — 318° NW, 10 mi WWPX — 320° NW, 71 mi WWPB — 329° NNW, 79 mi WFPT — 352° N, 41 mi WDCN — 356° N, 13 mi WNVC — 356° N, 13 mi Lorton

Point North-Northeast 25° on a compass — 79 miles of range covers this whole market

30/37stations in the beam
130/158free channels
82%of what's available
The other 7 stations sit west-northwest of you (303°). A rotator, or a second antenna facing that way, is what it takes to add them.
7 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 Lorton, VA

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WTTG FOX 5 19° NNE 20 mi 3
WDCA MyNetworkTV 20 19° NNE 20 mi 4
WDDN Daystar 23 20° NNE 24 mi 2
WETA PBS 26 20° NNE 20 mi 5
WJLA ABC 7 20° NNE 20 mi 6
WUSA CBS 9 20° NNE 20 mi 5
WHUT PBS 32 20° NNE 20 mi 2
WPXW Ion 66 20° NNE 20 mi 8
WWTD HSN2 49 20° NNE 19 mi 5
WFDC Univision 14 20° NNE 19 mi 4
WZDC Telemundo 44 20° NNE 19 mi 2
WRZB HSN2 31 20° NNE 19 mi 4
WRC NBC 4 20° NNE 19 mi 4
WIAV Roar 58 20° NNE 19 mi 2
WDCO Roar 10 20° NNE 19 mi 1
WDME MeTV 48 20° NNE 19 mi 8
WMPB PBS 67 23° NNE 58 mi 5
WDCW CW 50 26° NNE 22 mi 3
WMJF MeTV Toons 39 33° NNE 59 mi 7
WUTB Roar 24 33° NNE 54 mi 1
WBFF FOX 45 33° NNE 54 mi 3
WNUV CW 54 33° NNE 54 mi 4
WMAR ABC 2 33° NNE 54 mi 9
WBAL NBC 11 33° NNE 54 mi 7
WJZ CBS 13 33° NNE 54 mi 6
WWDD Daystar 49 42° NE 78 mi 1
WQAW Jewelry TV 69 54° NE 39 mi 12
WMPT PBS 22 54° NE 39 mi 5
WUPV CW 65 182° S 65 mi 5
WNVT World 23 254° WSW 13 mi 1
WDVM Independent 25 294° WNW 48 mi 4
WDWA Daystar 23 318° NW 10 mi 2
WWPX Ion 60 320° NW 71 mi 8
WWPB PBS 31 329° NNW 79 mi 4
WFPT PBS 62 352° N 41 mi 4
WDCN The Country Network 6 356° N 13 mi 1
WNVC World 41 356° N 13 mi 1

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Lorton, VA?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 10.0 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 20 miles.

For Lorton 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 Lorton are spread across 232° 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 Lorton. 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 Lorton, VA, 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.