TV channels & antenna towers in Shady Side, Maryland

Shady Side is a town of about 5,800 people in Maryland. There are 47 licensed TV transmitters within 70 miles: 25 full-power, 6 Class A and 16 low-power. Based on each transmitter's power, antenna height and distance, 29 are likely to arrive at fair strength or better, and 16 at good or strong strength.

By distance, 5 transmitters are within 25 miles, 30 between 25 and 45 miles, and 12 farther out. Nine of the 21 network stations in range are licensed to Washington, DC, so most of the network channels you will find here come from Washington's stations.

For the networks, the best local options are ABC on channel 2 (WMAR-TV), CBS on channel 9 (WUSA), NBC on channel 4 (WRC-TV), Fox on channel 5 (WTTG), PBS on channel 26 (WETA-TV), CW on channel 50 (WDCW), ION on channel 66 (WPXW-TV), Telemundo on channel 44 (WZDC-CD), Univision on channel 14 (WFDC-DT) and MeTV on channel 48.1 (WDME-CD). Spanish-language viewers can pick up Telemundo (good signal) and Univision (good signal). 8 full-power stations in range have no network listed in our data; these are typically public television, religious, shopping or independent stations.

The main network towers around Shady Side are in different directions: ABC 348° NNW (35 mi), CBS 284° WNW (31 mi), NBC 283° WNW (31 mi), Fox 285° WNW (33 mi) and PBS 284° WNW (31 mi). Aim at the farthest one you want first, or use a multi-directional antenna.

11 network stations, WDME-CD, WDCW, WRC-TV, WZDC-CD and WFDC-DT and others, transmit from the same tower site about 31 miles west of Shady Side (283° WNW). That one direction covers every station on the site.

Of the 18 full-power and Class A network signals that reach Shady Side at fair strength or better, 61% arrive from the west; the rest are spread across two other directions.

All of the main network towers are within their radio horizon as seen from Shady Side, so signals arrive fairly directly and a well-placed antenna should hold them steadily.

The farthest main network tower for Shady Side is WMAR-TV (ABC), 35 miles away with a good estimated signal. That is why we suggest an amplified indoor or attic antenna here. Skip that station and you may get away with a smaller antenna.

WMPT is only 13 miles away with a strong signal. Signals that strong can overload an amplifier, so start without one and add it only if distant channels are missing. Read when an amplifier helps.

With 29 stations at fair strength or better, Shady Side ranks 214th of 346 places in Maryland: fewer than the typical Maryland town (32). Its nearest major network tower is 31 miles away, against a state median of 16 miles.

66% of Maryland's cities and towns get the same recommendation: an amplified indoor or attic antenna. The nearest larger city is Annapolis, 9.5 miles away.