New From Grazioli: A Range of High-Power HF & 10m Vertical Antennas Arrives at ML&S

If your vertical antenna has seen better days — or you're putting together a new HF station and want something that's built to stay up the mast for years rather than months — it's worth taking a look at the new range of Grazioli antennas now available at ML&S. Grazioli is an Italian manufacturer with a reputation for building no-nonsense, no-trap vertical antennas designed for serious power levels and long-term outdoor service, and we're now stocking seven of their models covering everything from a 7-band HF all-rounder to dedicated high-gain verticals for 10m and 11m.

Who Are Grazioli?

Across the range, a few design choices crop up again and again, and they tell you a lot about the philosophy behind these antennas. Rather than relying on traps or impedance transformers — which can introduce losses and limit power handling — Grazioli's multiband designs use parallel stubs or collinear phasing sections to achieve resonance on each band, keeping efficiency high and power handling correspondingly high too.

Mechanically, every antenna in the range is built from cold-drawn AW6063-T66 aluminium alloy tubing with CNC-machined parts, fastened together with AISI-304 and AISI-316 stainless steel hardware for long-term resistance to UK weather. Each one is fitted with a custom 50-ohm UHF female connector, finished with PTFE insulation and a gold-plated centre pin, and most are DC grounded — a high-impedance path to earth that helps bleed off atmospheric static and reduce impulse noise on receive. Every antenna also ships with a detailed assembly manual and a serial number tying it back to its production batch.

The Multiband Workhorses: MV7 and MV6

At the top of the range sit two closely related ground-plane verticals built around the same mechanical concept: a central radiating whip combined with tuned lateral stubs, giving multiband coverage from a single base-fed antenna without any lossy transformer in the feed.

The MV7 is the most complete of the two, covering 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m and 6m from one 8.97m-tall vertical. Power handling is rated at 1500W SSB on 40m and a full 3kW on the other six bands, fed via four horizontal 2.7m ground-plane radials. The MV6 takes the same approach but drops 40m from the line-up, covering 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m and 6m at a lower price point, with a flat 3kW continuous, all-modes rating across the board. Usefully, the MV6 now ships with a genuine FAIR-RITE FT240-43 ferrite toroid for building a common-mode choke, and — for anyone who decides they want 40m after all — Grazioli's separate MV6 40m Upgrade Kit adds that band coverage to an existing MV6.

In both cases, tuning is done by adjusting the telescopic sections of the main whip and stubs — Grazioli notes that on the MV6 the 17m adjustment also has a small effect on the 6m resonance, so a graphical antenna analyser (a RigExpert or NanoVNA, for example) makes initial setup considerably easier.

Dedicated 10m & 11m DX Verticals: FE10V, G-Max and HW10V

For operators who live on the upper HF bands — or who hold a licence that includes 11m — Grazioli offers three verticals purpose-built for the 26–30MHz range, each taking a slightly different approach.

FE10V — the high-power 5/8 wave reference

The FE10V is a 5/8 wave ground-plane vertical, tunable across 26–30MHz, fed against four full quarter-wave 2.7m radials rather than the shorter, non-resonant radials often used on budget verticals. That resonant ground plane helps lower the radiation angle for better DX performance, and at the base sits a high-Q air-wound matching coil, DC grounded for noise reduction. With a quoted gain of 1.5dBd (3.65dBi) and a power rating of 5kW continuous, all modes, it's built as a serious long-term reference antenna for the top end of HF.

G-Max — the same platform, with more gain

The G-Max is built on the same proven mechanical design as the FE10V, but adds a 5/8-over-1/4 wave in-phase collinear section, using a carefully positioned high-Q coil to provide phase delay between the two radiating sections. The result is a noticeably tighter main lobe and higher gain — 3.5dBd (5.65dBi) — at the cost of a narrower tuning range of 27–28.5MHz. Grazioli positions the G-Max as offering performance comparable to small directional beams, while keeping the practical advantage of omnidirectional coverage and no rotator to maintain. Like the FE10V, it's rated for 5kW continuous and is supplied with a 3-point "fifth wheel" bracing system.

HW10V — the half-wave alternative

The HW10V takes a different approach again: rather than a 5/8 wave ground-plane design, it's a half-wave end-fed vertical for the 26–30MHz range — the 10m/11m sibling of the HW20V described below. As with that antenna, expect base tuning via a PTFE-insulated variable capacitor and the same high-grade aluminium and stainless-steel construction used throughout the range.

The 20m Specialist: HW20V

The HW20V applies the same half-wave end-fed concept to the 20m band, giving full-band coverage from a single vertical without needing a radial field. Matching is handled by a high-Q LC circuit at the base — a generously sized air-wound coil paired with a PTFE-insulated variable capacitor rated to withstand over 40kV, working in a similar way to a gamma match to allow fine tuning without internal adjustments. The whole assembly is DC grounded through the matching circuit for static and noise reduction, and is rated at 3kW continuous, all modes. As with the upper-band verticals, a 3-point fifth-wheel bracing system is supplied and recommended given the antenna's height.

Built the Same Way, Wherever You Look

One of the more reassuring things about this range is how consistent the engineering is from top to bottom. Whichever model you choose, you're getting the same cold-drawn AW6063-T66 aluminium tubing, the same AISI-304/316 stainless steel hardware, and the same custom Grazioli UHF connector with PTFE insulation and a gold-plated centre pin. Several models — the G-Max, FE10V and HW20V — are supplied with a 3-point "fifth wheel" bracing system for extra stability on a mast, and fibreglass reinforcement is used at stress points to prevent tube crushing on the radial and stub joints. Every antenna also arrives with a full assembly manual and a serial number that ties it back to its production batch.

Which Grazioli Is Right for Your Station?

With seven models (including the upgrade kit) in the range, here's the full line-up at a glance:

If you're after the broadest possible coverage from one vertical, the MV7 (or an MV6 plus the 40m kit) is the obvious starting point. If 10m and 11m are your priority, the choice comes down to whether you want maximum power handling and the widest tuning range (FE10V), extra gain and a tighter pattern (G-Max), or a simpler half-wave design (HW10V). And if 20m is your main interest, the HW20V offers full-band coverage from a dedicated vertical without the need for a radial field.

Closing Thoughts

It's rare to see a vertical antenna range built so consistently around the idea of avoiding traps and transformers wherever possible, and the result is a line-up that can genuinely take serious power without the efficiency penalties that often come with compact multiband designs. Whether you want one antenna to cover the HF bands from 40m to 6m, a high-gain DX performer for 10m and 11m, or a dedicated full-band vertical for 20m, there's a Grazioli model built for the job — and built, by the look of the materials involved, to still be doing that job in a good many years' time.

Disclaimer: This post is an independent overview based on Grazioli's published product information, current at the time of writing. Specifications, pricing and availability are subject to change — please check the product pages at ML&S for the latest stock status and pricing before ordering.