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Have you seen the transmitter mapping tool at TV Fool? HINT: Enable the checkbox called "Show lines pointing to each transmitter". It also shows local transmitters on a map for you to explore, and has some key differences:

1) It only shows transmitters you have a chance at receiving. Transmitters behind three mountains or otherwise too weak to receive won't be shown. There's no point trying to figure out channels you have no hope of receiving.

2) You can adjust the location and altitude of the point being analyzed. The display updates automatically when you change anything. This lets you adjust for inaccurate address lookups and play all kinds of interactive "what if" games.

3) You can also browse coverage overlays for individual transmitters. This helps you get a feel for how the signals get chopped up by the terrain. These are real propagation modeling maps, and not just the over-simplified service contours you get from the FCC.

4) You can switch between different map views (e.g., terrain, satellite, roads, etc.). If you zoom all the way in on most transmitters (in satellite view), you'll actually see that TV Fool is usually more accurate than other sources.



I fully agree that any and all web resources should be shared and used. For each type of resource, it's important to know its strengths and weaknesses so that you don't get misled by incorrect inforamation. No resource is immune from errors/bugs (including the FCC), so it's always a good idea to cross-reference multiple sources for data.

Other useful places not yet mentioned in this thread are:

FCC TV Query (the original source of everything)
DTV Maps (also done by the FCC)



Cheers,
Chuck