Antenna aiming / Olney, MD
Which way do I point it?

How to aim your TV antenna in Olney, MD

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

Transmitter directions from Olney, MD N E S W WGAL — 21° NNE, 66 mi WLYH — 26° NNE, 58 mi WMPB — 37° NE, 26 mi WMJF — 55° NE, 31 mi WWDD — 60° ENE, 51 mi WUTB — 60° ENE, 26 mi WBFF — 60° ENE, 26 mi WNUV — 60° ENE, 26 mi WMAR — 61° ENE, 26 mi WBAL — 61° ENE, 26 mi WJZ — 61° ENE, 26 mi WQAW — 111° ESE, 27 mi WMPT — 111° ESE, 27 mi WDCW — 169° S, 13 mi WDDN — 175° S, 10 mi WETA — 181° S, 14 mi WJLA — 181° S, 14 mi WUSA — 181° S, 14 mi WHUT — 181° S, 14 mi WPXW — 181° S, 14 mi WIAV — 182° S, 15 mi WDCO — 182° S, 15 mi WDME — 182° S, 15 mi WRC — 182° S, 15 mi WRZB — 182° S, 15 mi WFDC — 182° S, 15 mi WZDC — 182° S, 15 mi WWTD — 182° S, 15 mi WTTG — 182° S, 13 mi WDCA — 182° S, 13 mi WNVC — 203° SSW, 21 mi WDCN — 203° SSW, 21 mi WNVT — 209° SSW, 41 mi WDWA — 209° SSW, 29 mi WDVM — 255° WSW, 53 mi WWPX — 292° WNW, 57 mi WFPT — 301° WNW, 15 mi WWPB — 306° NW, 59 mi WJAL — 317° NW, 70 mi W30FH-D — 330° NNW, 72 mi Olney

Point South 179° on a compass — 72 miles of range covers this whole market

21/40stations in the beam
73/171free channels
43%of what's available
The other 19 stations sit north-northeast of you (32°). A rotator, or a second antenna facing that way, is what it takes to add them.
9 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 Olney, MD

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WGAL NBC 8 21° NNE 66 mi 6
WLYH Independent 49 26° NNE 58 mi 1
WMPB PBS 67 37° NE 26 mi 5
WMJF MeTV Toons 39 55° NE 31 mi 7
WWDD Daystar 49 60° ENE 51 mi 1
WUTB Roar 24 60° ENE 26 mi 1
WBFF FOX 45 60° ENE 26 mi 3
WNUV CW 54 60° ENE 26 mi 4
WMAR ABC 2 61° ENE 26 mi 9
WBAL NBC 11 61° ENE 26 mi 7
WJZ CBS 13 61° ENE 26 mi 6
WQAW Jewelry TV 69 111° ESE 27 mi 12
WMPT PBS 22 111° ESE 27 mi 5
WDCW CW 50 169° S 13 mi 3
WDDN Daystar 23 175° S 10 mi 2
WETA PBS 26 181° S 14 mi 5
WJLA ABC 7 181° S 14 mi 6
WUSA CBS 9 181° S 14 mi 5
WHUT PBS 32 181° S 14 mi 2
WPXW Ion 66 181° S 14 mi 8
WIAV Roar 58 182° S 15 mi 2
WDCO Roar 10 182° S 15 mi 1
WDME MeTV 48 182° S 15 mi 8
WRC NBC 4 182° S 15 mi 4
WRZB HSN2 31 182° S 15 mi 4
WFDC Univision 14 182° S 15 mi 4
WZDC Telemundo 44 182° S 15 mi 2
WWTD HSN2 49 182° S 15 mi 5
WTTG FOX 5 182° S 13 mi 3
WDCA MyNetworkTV 20 182° S 13 mi 4
WNVC World 41 203° SSW 21 mi 1
WDCN The Country Network 6 203° SSW 21 mi 1
WNVT World 23 209° SSW 41 mi 1
WDWA Daystar 23 209° SSW 29 mi 2
WDVM Independent 25 255° WSW 53 mi 4
WWPX Ion 60 292° WNW 57 mi 8
WFPT PBS 62 301° WNW 15 mi 4
WWPB PBS 31 306° NW 59 mi 4
WJAL Altavision 68 317° NW 70 mi 2
W30FH-D Bounce TV 35 330° NNW 72 mi 9

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Olney, MD?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 10.5 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 15 miles.

For Olney 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 Olney are spread across 302° 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 Olney. 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 Olney, MD, 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.