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:
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- If you go all yellow and orange channels, you’ll need an outdoor antenna
- 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.
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.
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
Hi Joe,
You can enter your exact address in the Station Finder for more precise results. For direction, click on the station call letters in the list that appears and it will show the degrees.
https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps
Best,
Brian
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.
Hi Scott,
Can you send me your zip code so I can double-check? Maybe there was a problem with the site at that time.
Thanks,
Brian
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.
Hi Kathryn,
Sometimes atmospheric phenomena which are not necessarily visible (tropospheric ducting) can affect reception. It also could be electronic interference. Assuming you’re using an indoor antenna, here are some things to try:
https://www.disablemycable.com/blog/antenna-tips/
Best,
Brian
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.
Hi Austin,
Here are some things to try:
https://www.disablemycable.com/blog/lost-tv-channels-after-rescan/
Best,
Brian
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!
If that doesn’t work, it may mean the actual channel frequencies changed in your area. If the TV with the problem is older, you may find the lost channels on different channels on your TV (newer ones will compensate).
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.
Ah. Then maybe it is an antenna issue…
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).
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!
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.
I don’t have a zip code how can I get some
Hi Benjamin,
Sorry, this only works in the United States.
Best,
Brian
would I be abe to get ” POP tv .
Hi Wilbur,
Unfortunately, Pop TV is not available on broadcast TV (you cannot get it using an antenna).
You can enter “pop” in my Streaming Service Finder to see what streaming services offer it. It seems to be only available on the more expensive services however:
https://www.disablemycable.com/streaming-service-finder/
Best,
Brian
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!
Hi Maria,
Having Internet shouldn’t affect your TV’s antenna reception. I’d say, make sure your TV is set to receive broadcast TV signals (and not cable TV). If still not working, please send a photo of your screen showing the problem while scanning. You can include a photo by pressing the photo icon near the lower left of the comment box.
Thanks,
Brian
thanks for the info, what is your professional opinion on channel master antennas, they have been around forever. curt
Hi Curt,
I think ChannelMaster antennas are great! I have tested several myself.
Best,
Brian
My Camper’s antena won’t pull in local “Green” stations from your finder. Is there an in-line booster that will actually help?
Hi Huey,
Before buying anything, try these tips:
https://www.disablemycable.com/blog/antenna-tips/
Amplifiers don’t always help, so just want to save you money by trying other options before going with the booster.
https://www.disablemycable.com/blog/are-amplified-indoor-antennas-better/
Best,
Brian