The Broadcast TV Station Finder

by | Last updated Oct 18, 2022

The Station Finder is my name for the FCC tool that tells you which TV stations you can potentially get in your area of the United States. The channels you actually get will depend on your exact location, type of antenna, height of your antenna, and other factors.

Press the button below and enter your zip code. Wait a few seconds, and it will show you how many potential free TV channels are available in your area.

You should be able to get most of the green and yellow channels using a good indoor antenna. Click on the station’s call letters to see what direction the signal is coming from on the map to help you orient your antenna.

THE RESULTS OF THE STATION FINDER ARE BASED ON THE FCC DATABASE AND DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE ALL OF THE CHANNELS LISTED.

If That Site Is Down, Use This Alternative

If the link above doesn’t work (sometimes the FCC Site goes down), enter your zip code into the Transmitter Locator by Antennas Direct. You should be able to get stations within the first circle using an indoor antenna:

Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. I test or research each product or service before endorsing. This site is not owned by any retailer or manufacturer. I own this site and the opinions expressed here are mine. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Interpret the Station Finder Results

In general, you should be able to receive most of the green channels using a good antenna and some experimentation.

  1. If you got a lot of green stations, congratulations you’re in good shape! You should do well with a Mohu Leaf antenna with RG6 cable if you want to get better reception of VHF (the Hi-V) channels. More info here.
  2. If you got just a few green and some yellow channels, an outdoor antenna is best, but you will get some channels with an indoor antenna. Check out my article on amplified antennas.
  3. If you go all yellow and orange channels, you’ll need an outdoor antenna
  4. If you got all orange or red channels or no channels, you’ll need to use Internet streaming services for TV.

How to See Which Direction to Point Your Antenna

To see which direction the TV signal is coming from, click on the station’s call letters on the left side of the map. The map will then show the TV transmitter towers with a black line to your location.

The FCC's Station Finder
The FCC’s Station Finder

My Recommended Indoor Antenna

A rooftop outdoor antenna will get you the most channels. But if you’re not able to install a rooftop antenna, I recommend the Mohu Leaf indoor antenna:


For More Information

Click here if you want to do a quick test to see if your TV can pick up any stations. No antenna is needed for this test.

If you’d like to get more channels and better reception with your indoor antenna, read my tips and tricks for indoor antennas article.


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Brian Shim, DisableMyCable.com

I'm an electrical engineer (BSEE Caltech) with twenty years of experience designing industrial and consumer products, and now a web developer who loves to share ways to save money on TV content, Internet access, and cell phone plans! Read more about me here.

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David Willis
David Willis
2 months ago

18505

joe condon
joe condon
1 year ago

how do i enter my GPS coordinates into map to get accurate compas azimuth direction- my zip is 18444 but is for Moscow PA I’m in roaring brook PA about 3 miles away (no post office) I get 30 channels but some are weak – say audio only on tuning channels
I want to cut down some trees blocking reception from mountaintop Pa so i need to know the right ones to cut?
Joe

scott
scott
1 year ago

hello, when i entered my location (i did both zip and city/state) i got zero anything on the map. there was no call signs or anything indicating any broadcast towers anywhere, it just looked like a plain map. not sure why cause we do have an antenna up on one our mountains as well as others, plus i know people that currently recieve local tv content. what else can i do?thanks.

Kathryn Walford
Kathryn Walford
2 years ago

Yesterday I got 64 channels. Today 40. TV is one year old. Antenna is less than than one year old. What changed in South Austin Tx between yesterday and today? Clouds usually dont affect this set up.

AustinPuzzle
AustinPuzzle
1 year ago
Reply to  Brian Shim

Wow – I’m also in south Austin and exact thing happened to me last week! One day rescanned in living room and lost half of channels, same setup in bedroom 18 feet away no change – and bedroom antenna is on an interior wall while living room is on a window, both on second floor.

AustinPuzzle
AustinPuzzle
1 year ago
Reply to  Brian Shim

Thank you so much! So appreciate your page – I’d actually come across this before and I think the only one I can try is hanging it outside – going to try that one this week. Thanks again!

AustinPuzzle
AustinPuzzle
1 year ago
Reply to  Brian Shim

The weird thing is that the same setup in the bedroom still has the old lineup, and when I put the living room antenna in the bedroom, the old lineup shows up.

AustinPuzzle
AustinPuzzle
1 year ago
Reply to  Brian Shim

I’m also going to try (even though I risk losing the old channel lineup forever!) taking the living room antenna to the bedroom and rescanning (when I switched them out before I merely connected the living room antenna to the bedroom TV and didn’t rescan – and was shocked when I saw the old channel lineup show up).

AustinPuzzle
AustinPuzzle
1 year ago
Reply to  AustinPuzzle

Yep, now I’ve gone and messed up for good. Tried hanging the antenna outside the window in the living room, still got the weird lineup. This morning in the bedroom (same TV model, same antenna) where the old lineup was still in effect I watched the local ABC station clear as a bell. Just now switched out both tv and antenna – put living room set up in bedroom and vice versa. Now – both rooms have the weird lineup and local ABC station in bedroom is gone. Rescanned both and same weird lineup results. I literally watched a station this morning, perfectly clearly, that isn’t being picked up in either room now. I give up. Thank you for your time and ideas!

AustinPuzzle
AustinPuzzle
1 year ago
Reply to  AustinPuzzle

OK I didn’t give up. Bought a Clearstream Eclipse. Disconnect Google Fiber internet, Double scanned, rescanned and got my channels back. Started watching local ABC affiliate, clear as day. Remembered I had disconnected internet because time was wrong and there was no program info on guide. Reconnected internet, still watching same ABC Station – but guide now shows weird lineup and says the channel I am STILL watching is NOT the ABC affiliate but some random crime channel, which is listed twice on the guide. Sigh.

Benjamin Awuzu
Benjamin Awuzu
2 years ago

I don’t have a zip code how can I get some

Wilbur Felton
Wilbur Felton
2 years ago

would I be abe to get ” POP tv .

Maria Siebertz
Maria Siebertz
2 years ago

I recently got cable for internet but watch antenna tv as much as possible. I just tried rescanning and found everything to be changed, asking for closed captioning series of codes which I don’t understand, hence I no longer can access any antenna tv. I disconnected and reconnected both tv and antenna to no avail. Help!

Candace, Curtis Hinkle Hinkle
Candace, Curtis Hinkle Hinkle
2 years ago

thanks for the info, what is your professional opinion on channel master antennas, they have been around forever. curt

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