Terrestrial Television Frequencies in the U.S and Canada
Lo-VHF
Antenna Type:
Pros:
Slightly bends over mountainous terrain
Best in heavily wooded areas
Cons:
Requires an antenna with very long elements.
Extremely prone to interference from electronics.
Note: Most consumers do not have an antenna large enough to adequately receive Lo-VHF frequencies. This is exacerbated by an extremely high noise floor, which makes reception extremely difficult, or nearly impossible. This is why broadcasters tend to not use the Lo-VHF band. However, these reception issues can be mitigated by using a modern broadcast technology like ATSC 3.0. I am recommending the FCC mandate a switch to ATSC 3.0 on the Lo-VHF band first. Learn more here.
Lo-VHF has amazing qualities that are incredibly useful in very rural, hilly, mountainous, and/or forested areas. The use of the Lo-VHF band coupled with ATSC 3.0 implemented in a robust way could reinvigorate rural OTA reception, possibly allowing for OTA TV reception in certain regions for the first time.
| RF Channel | Lower Edge | Upper Edge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 54 MHz | 60 MHz |
| 3 | 60 MHz | 66 MHz |
| 4 | 66 MHz | 72 MHz |
| (4 MHz Gap) | ||
| 5 | 76 MHz | 82 MHz |
| 6 | 82 MHz | 88 MHz |
Hi-VHF
Antenna Type:
Pros:
Slightly bends over mountainous terrain
Performs well in heavily wooded areas
Antenna elements are shorter compared to Lo-VHF
Cons:
Requires an antenna with long elements.
Prone to interference from electronics.
| RF Channel | Lower Edge | Upper Edge |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 174 MHz | 180 MHz |
| 8 | 180 MHz | 186 MHz |
| 9 | 186 MHz | 192 MHz |
| 10 | 192 MHz | 198 MHz |
| 11 | 198 MHz | 204 MHz |
| 12 | 204 MHz | 210 MHz |
| 13 | 210 MHz | 216 MHz |
UHF
Pros:
Interference from electronics is largely not an issue
Requires an antenna with short elements
Travels through building material the easiest
Cons:
Doesn’t bend over mountainous terrain
Poor performance in heavily wooded areas
Antenna Type:
| RF Channel | Lower Edge | Upper Edge |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | 470 MHz | 476 MHz |
| 15 | 476 MHz | 482 MHz |
| 16 | 482 MHz | 488 MHz |
| 17 | 488 MHz | 494 MHz |
| 18 | 494 MHz | 500 MHz |
| 19 | 500 MHz | 506 MHz |
| 20 | 506 MHz | 512 MHz |
| 21 | 512 MHz | 518 MHz |
| 22 | 518 MHz | 524 MHz |
| 23 | 524 MHz | 530 MHz |
| 24 | 530 MHz | 536 MHz |
| 25 | 536 MHz | 542 MHz |
| 26 | 542 MHz | 548 MHz |
| 27 | 548 MHz | 554 MHz |
| 28 | 554 MHz | 560 MHz |
| 29 | 560 MHz | 566 MHz |
| 30 | 566 MHz | 572 MHz |
| 31 | 572 MHz | 578 MHz |
| 32 | 578 MHz | 584 MHz |
| 33 | 584 MHz | 590 MHz |
| 34 | 590 MHz | 596 MHz |
| 35 | 596 MHz | 602 MHz |
| 36 | 602 MHz | 608 MHz |
| 37 (Unused) | 608 MHz | 614 MHz |