Well I've worked with the center fed Lazy H antenna design on 10
meters for several few weeks now. I tried 1/2 wave spacing between
the top and bottom elements, 5/8th wave spacing between the top and
bottom elements, I put it up at 40 feet and 50 feet at the top wire, I
tried different lengths of 450 ohm feed-line, and this antenna
consistently under performs a 1/2 wave dipole cut for the same
frequency. A simple 1/2 wave dipole consistently out performs the
center fed version of Lazy H antenna even when the Lazy H is given a
20 foot height advantage over the lowly dipole. I even put up the Lazy
H in two completely different locations over 180 miles apart. I also
tried two completely different antenna tuners (Dentron MT-3000a and
Drake MN-75 with the 4:1 balun installed). Out of over 200 A/B test
the Lazy H antenna only out performed the dipole on one test with a
station in Texas just before the propagation faded out for the day,
The next day when the propagation was back I heard the same station on
the same frequency and the dipole out performed the Lazy H for the
rest of the day. I'm not sure what special propagation mode is
required for the Lazy H to have some gain through some pin hole
direction, but the version of the Lazy H center fed with 450 ohm
ladder line back to the antenna tuner is a complete failure. I even
re-built the antenna from scratch using a different piece 450 ladder
line for the inter connecting piece. I also verified the length of
each 1/2 wave section with a tape measure. I verified with an ohm
meter that the top left element was connected to the bottom left
element and the right top element was connected to the bottom right
element. I verified there was no unexpected connectivity between the
left and right elements, and I verified both sides of the ladder line
were connected back to the antenna tuner. I made sure there was no
twist in the ladder line connecting the top and bottom elements.
I would like to petition the ARRL to remove the center fed Lazy H
from the antenna handbook as it clearly does not work as specified. A
lowly mono band dipole on the same design frequency will consistently
out perform the center feed Lazy H even when the Lazy H is given a 20
foot height advantage on10 meters.
Before any of you reply with charts and graphs from EZNEC software,
turn off your computer, go out in the back yard, and actually build a
center fed Lazy H antenna with 450 ladder line all the way back to the
antenna tuner. Then do real world A/B comparisons with a plain old
mono band dipole cut for the same frequency, and you will find I am
telling the truth. The center fed Lazy H does not have any gain over
a 1/2 wave dipole broadside to the antenna. None.

Here is what you will fine if you actually build the center fed Lazy H
and compare it to a 1/2 wave mono band dipole cut for the same same
frequency;

1) Your tuner will have to use extreme setting to match the Lazy H.
2) In some instances the tuner will not be able to match the Lazy H
depending on the length of the ladder line feeding the antenna. You
may have to increase or decrease the length of the ladder line feeding
the Lazy H to get your antenna tuner to match it.
3) A 1/2 wave dipole will beat the Lazy H 99.99 percent of the time in
it's favored direction even if the Lazy H is given a 20 foot height
advantage over the dipole.
4) An extended double zepp with a 450 ohm matching section back to a
1:1 balun and then to 50 ohm coax cut for the same frequency and hung
from the same ropes previously used to support the Lazy H will blow
the Lazy H in the dirt.

In a nutshell, this antenna sucks!

Michael Rawls
KS4HY