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

How to aim your TV antenna in Wonder Lake, IL

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

Transmitter directions from Wonder Lake, IL N E S W WDMW — 12° NNE, 41 mi WDJT — 24° NNE, 54 mi WMLW — 24° NNE, 54 mi WBME — 24° NNE, 54 mi WYTU — 24° NNE, 54 mi WISN — 24° NNE, 54 mi WVTV — 25° NNE, 54 mi WPXE — 25° NNE, 54 mi WMVS — 25° NNE, 54 mi WVCY — 25° NNE, 54 mi WMVT — 25° NNE, 54 mi WIWN — 25° NNE, 54 mi WMKE — 25° NNE, 54 mi WTSJ — 25° NNE, 54 mi WTMJ — 26° NNE, 54 mi WITI — 26° NNE, 54 mi WRME — 132° SE, 51 mi WESV — 132° SE, 51 mi WGBO — 132° SE, 51 mi WOCK — 132° SE, 51 mi W31EZ-D — 133° SE, 52 mi WDCI — 133° SE, 52 mi WRJK — 133° SE, 51 mi WLS — 133° SE, 51 mi WTTW — 133° SE, 51 mi WXFT — 133° SE, 51 mi WBBM — 133° SE, 51 mi WCPX — 133° SE, 51 mi WPWR — 133° SE, 51 mi WJYS — 133° SE, 51 mi WWME — 133° SE, 51 mi WEDE — 133° SE, 51 mi WFLD — 133° SE, 51 mi WMAQ — 133° SE, 51 mi WGN — 133° SE, 51 mi WCIU — 133° SE, 51 mi WSNS — 133° SE, 51 mi WMEU — 133° SE, 51 mi WPVN — 146° SE, 29 mi WLPD — 159° SSE, 41 mi WQRF — 260° W, 42 mi WTVO — 260° W, 42 mi WFBN — 261° W, 42 mi WSLN — 261° W, 42 mi WIFR — 261° W, 42 mi WREX — 262° W, 45 mi Wonder Lake

Point Southeast 130° on a compass — 54 miles of range covers this whole market

24/46stations in the beam
122/228free channels
54%of what's available
The other 22 stations sit north of you (3°). A rotator, or a second antenna facing that way, is what it takes to add them.
8 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 Wonder Lake, IL

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

StationNetworkChannel BearingDirectionDistanceSubchannels
WDMW Daystar 65 12° NNE 41 mi 1
WDJT CBS 58 24° NNE 54 mi 5
WMLW Independent 49 24° NNE 54 mi 5
WBME MeTV 41 24° NNE 54 mi 1
WYTU Telemundo 63 24° NNE 54 mi 5
WISN ABC 12 24° NNE 54 mi 4
WVTV CW 18 25° NNE 54 mi 4
WPXE Ion 55 25° NNE 54 mi 8
WMVS PBS 10 25° NNE 54 mi 3
WVCY Independent 30 25° NNE 54 mi 1
WMVT PBS 36 25° NNE 54 mi 3
WIWN Cozi TV 68 25° NNE 54 mi 8
WMKE Jewelry TV 21 25° NNE 54 mi 8
WTSJ Fubo Sports 38 25° NNE 54 mi 12
WTMJ NBC 4 26° NNE 54 mi 7
WITI FOX 6 26° NNE 54 mi 4
WRME Jewelry TV 6 132° SE 51 mi 1
WESV Almavision 40 132° SE 51 mi 7
WGBO Univision 66 132° SE 51 mi 7
WOCK Shop LC 13 132° SE 51 mi 6
W31EZ-D Almavision 25 133° SE 52 mi 7
WDCI Daystar 57 133° SE 52 mi 1
WRJK Diya TV 22 133° SE 51 mi 10
WLS ABC 7 133° SE 51 mi 3
WTTW PBS 11 133° SE 51 mi 4
WXFT UniMas 60 133° SE 51 mi 3
WBBM CBS 2 133° SE 51 mi 5
WCPX Ion 38 133° SE 51 mi 8
WPWR MyNetworkTV 50 133° SE 51 mi 1
WJYS Independent 62 133° SE 51 mi 11
WWME MeTV 23 133° SE 51 mi 3
WEDE Independent 34 133° SE 51 mi 2
WFLD FOX 32 133° SE 51 mi 6
WMAQ NBC 5 133° SE 51 mi 5
WGN CW 9 133° SE 51 mi 6
WCIU The U 26 133° SE 51 mi 8
WSNS Telemundo 44 133° SE 51 mi 2
WMEU U Too 48 133° SE 51 mi 4
WPVN MBC 24 146° SE 29 mi 10
WLPD TBN Inspire 30 159° SSE 41 mi 2
WQRF FOX 39 260° W 42 mi 4
WTVO ABC 17 260° W 42 mi 4
WFBN Heroes & Icons 35 261° W 42 mi 4
WSLN CW 19 261° W 42 mi 3
WIFR CBS 23 261° W 42 mi 6
WREX NBC 13 262° W 45 mi 6

Marked rows fall inside the recommended beam.

What antenna do you need in Wonder Lake, IL?

How far the transmitters are, and which way they sit

The nearest transmitter is 29.1 miles away, and most of the lineup sits within 51 miles.

For Wonder Lake 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 Wonder Lake are spread across 249° 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 Wonder Lake. 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 Wonder Lake, 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.