TV channels & antenna towers in De Forest, Wisconsin

De Forest is a town of about 8,940 people in Wisconsin. There are 25 licensed TV transmitters within 70 miles: 11 full-power, 1 Class A, 10 low-power and 3 translators. Based on each transmitter's power, antenna height and distance, 11 are likely to arrive at fair strength or better, and 8 at good or strong strength.

By distance, 10 transmitters are within 25 miles, 1 between 25 and 45 miles, and 14 farther out. Five of the 12 network stations in range are licensed to Rockford, IL, so most of the network channels you will find here come from Rockford's stations.

For the networks, the best local options are ABC on channel 27 (WKOW), CBS on channel 3 (WISC-TV), NBC on channel 13 (WREX), Fox on channel 47 (WMSN-TV), CW on channel 15.2 (WMTV), ION on channel 57 (WIFS), Telemundo on channel 23 (WFBN-LD) and Trinity on channel 52 (WWRS-TV). Spanish-language viewers can pick up Telemundo (very weak signal). 1 full-power station in range has no network listed in our data; these are typically public television, religious, shopping or independent stations.

Point your antenna SW, at about 216°. The main network towers for De Forest sit in that direction, so a single directional antenna can pick them all up.

Four network stations, WMSN-TV, WIFS, WKOW and WISC-TV, transmit from the same tower site about 16 miles southwest of De Forest (216° SW). That one direction covers every station on the site.

Of the 6 full-power and Class A network signals that reach De Forest at fair strength or better, 83% arrive from the southwest; the rest are spread across one other direction.

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

The farthest main network tower for De Forest is WMSN-TV (Fox), 16 miles away with a strong estimated signal. That is why we suggest an indoor antenna here.

WREX (NBC), 66 miles south, is the exception: the nearest listed affiliate of its network is far enough away to need an outdoor antenna. Some local stations in our data carry no network tag, so check the other stations table below before buying a bigger antenna just for that one.

An amplifier only helps here if you run a long cable (over about 50 feet) or split the antenna to several TVs. Otherwise better placement does more. See the amplifier guide.

With 11 stations at fair strength or better, De Forest ranks 233rd of 423 places in Wisconsin: fewer than the typical Wisconsin town (12). Its nearest major network tower is 15 miles away, against a state median of 25 miles.

30% of Wisconsin's cities and towns get the same recommendation: an indoor antenna. The nearest larger city is Sun Prairie, 7.9 miles away.